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TRINITY  COLLEGE 
LIBRARY 


DURHAM,  NORTH  CAROLINA 


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ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS. 


FROM  MARSHALL’S  CELEBRATED  ENGRAVING 
(See  note  following  Title  Page.) 


i 


THE  LIFE 


OF 

ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS. 


By  FRANK  H.  NORTON. 


AUTHOR  OF 

“THE  LIFE  OF  MAJ.  GEN.  WINFIELD  S.  HANCOCK,”  ETC. 


(Copyright  1883,  by  John  B.  Alden.) 


NEW  YORK: 

JOHN  B.  ALDEN,  Publisher, 
1883. 


CONTENTS. 


Chapter  I. 


PAGE. 

Birth  and  parentage. — Early  Life  and  Education. — 
Entrance  upon  a Legislative  Career 1 


Chapter  II. 

Election  to  Congress. — Condition  of  Politics. — The 
“ Georgia  Platform.” — Speech  on  the  Mexican 
Treaty  Question r-. 9 

Chapter  III. 

3ersonal  Characteristics  and  Style  of  Oratory. — 

“ Know-nothingism  ” in  Georgia. — Opinion  of 
Mr.  Stephens  by  a Georgia  Historian. — The 
Assault  on  Him  by  Judge  Cone. — He  is  attacked 
while  unarmed,  and  nearly  cut  to  pieces 19 

' Chapter  IV. 

The  Political  Campaign  of  1860. — Address  at 
Augusta,  Ga.,  in  1859. — A Remarkable  Predic- 
tion.— Important  Address  delivered  before  the 
Legislature  at  Milledgeville,  Ga.. 30 

Chapter  V. 

'he  South  Carolina  Secession  Ordinance,  and  Con- 
ventions in  six  other  Southern  States. — The 
Georgia  Convention. — Mr.  Stephens’  Views  on 
Secession. — He  is  elected  a member  of  the 
Georgia  Convention,  and  votes  against  Secession. 

— Elected  Vice-President  of  the  Confederacy...  41 


Chapter  VI. 


PAGE. 

The  “Corner-Stone”  Speech  at  Savannah. — Mr. 
Stephens’  Views  Concerning  Slavery. — Special 
Confederate  Commissioner  to  Virginia. — Ad- 
dress at  Richmond  before  the  Convention 49 

Chapter  VII. 

Northern  Impressions  of  Mr.  Stephens. — Chagrin 
at  his  acceptance  of  Secession. — The  real  “ con- 
sistency” of  his  action. — His  Advice  and  Coun- 
sel to  the  South. — His  Opinion  of  the  import- 
ance of  Cotton  as  a “commercial  king.” — His 
difference  with  the  Confederate  Government..  60 

Chapter  VIII. 

Mr.  Stephens’  ill  health. — “Liberty  Hall;”  de- 
scription of  his  residence  at  Crawfordsville. — 
Home  Life  and  Hospitalities. — Personal  Appear- 
ance, as  described  by  Rev.  W.  H.  Milburn 68 

Chapter  IX. 

Mr.  Stephens’  Generosity. — Aid  to  Struggling  Talent. 

— His  Appearance  in  the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives.— Address  before  the  Georgia  Assembly 
in  1864. — The  Hampton  Roads  Conference. — 
Arrest  and  Imprisonment  of  Mr.  Stephens. — He 
is  released,  and  devotes  himself  to  Authorship. 

— His  Death,  and  the  Impressive  Ceremonies  of 
his  Funeral. 76 


ALEXANDER  B.  STEPHENS. 


3 


of  “promise,”  bi.  of  performance.  An  industrious 
babit,  a spirit  of  lerseverance  seldom  seen  in  one  so 
young,  and  a r&her  ambitious  turn  of  character — 
these  elements  bd  begun,  dimly,  but  significantly, 
to  suggest  the  n ture  of  the  boy  who  was  to  become 
■ the  most  distingiished  personage  in  the  State. 

, There  would  tpPear  to  have  been  a good  deal  of  kind- 
ly feeling  prev.lent  in  the  locality  where  Alexander 
Stephens  had  be  good  fortune  to  be  born.  In  his  in- 
stance it  tookthe  direction  of  a recognition  of  qualities 
,above  the  avrage,  and  a generous  determination  to 
afforaWoK-pOssessor  all  the  advantages  which  it  was 
practicable  to  gain  from  them. 

A perfectly  unintended  and  innocent  misunderstand- 
ing at  this  point,  helped  forward,  curiously  enough, 
the  designs  of  the  friends  of  young  Stephens  and  his 
own  necessities. 

Probably  on  account  of  his  constant  weakness  and 
frequent  ill  health,  the  boy’s  disposition  had  seemingly 
become,  to  a certain  extent,  morbid;  a state,  indeed,  in 
which  it  remained  at  intervals  all  through  his  life.  At 
this  period,  not  unnaturally,  he  was  somewhat  de- 
spondent; and,  as  is  frequently  the  case  in  sensitive 
chil  £0n,  this  phase  displayed  itself  for  the  time  being, 

1 'fis- a.  religious  tendency.  In  the  Sunday  School  which 
he  at  ‘tended,  he  became  noticed  for  the  seriousness  of 
his  cMtemeanor,  and  his  apparent  sympathy  with  holy 
thiiHigs.  Attention  being  thus  directed  towards  him, 
sonaHe  gentlemen  and  ladies  in  the  neighborhood  inter- 
ested?! themselves  in  his  welfare,  and  intervened  to 
pro.  bcurc  him  a better  education  than  was  open  to  him 
in /..OB  ho  locr.l  school.  An  arrangement  was  accordingly 
pdmlle,  (but  only,  and  because  of  his  own  fixed  deter- 
/iation  as  to  that,  on  the  understanding  that  the 


THE  LIFE  ok 


(und 


by  the 
V 

school 


to 

ill 


expenses  incurred  were  to  be  funded 
boy,)  and  he  was  sent  to  the  Aoemy  in  Wash- 
ington, Georgia,  at  that  time  auassical 
in  high  repute.  This  academy  was  \der  the  super- , 
intendence  of  Rev.  Alexander  Hatton  Webster, 
as  to  whom,  and  concerning  his  afteiinfluence  over 
his  pupil,  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  thelatter  adopte 
the  second  name  of  Mr,  Webster  as  h\  own,  young 
Stephens  having  only  been  christened  AlKander.  Wr. 
Webster  was,  in  fact,  greatly  pleased  wit1'  the  lad,  an 
as  he  had  in  charge  the  Presbyterian  chinch  in  Wash^j 
ington,  he  lost  no  time  in  inducting  theAicHiUo  church 
membership.  Indeed, ^hftr^eirerai  design  which  at  this 
time  surrounded  Stephens,  and  directed  his  life,  would 
appear  to  have  originated  in  what  he  termed  a mis 
understanding — the  supposition  that  he  could  be  in 
duced  to  enter'  the  ministry.  It  is  certain  that  to  thii 
design  the  young  man  himself  was  not  a party,  anc 
that  he  felt  deep  chagrin  when  he  discovered,  toward  M 
the  close  of  his  educational  period,  that  it  had  existed 
No  one  who  considers  the  interest  of  the  State  of  Georgu 
or  of  the  country  at  large,  can  fail  to  recognize  that  sucl 
a determination  as  that  of  Alexander  H.  Stephens  t< 
the  pulpit — while  it  would  have  certainly  been#a  gaii  « 
to  the  latter — would  have  been  a state  and  natio: 
and  grievance. 

As  illustrative  of  the  rapidity  with  which  the 
man  acquired  knowledge,  it  may  be  observed  th; 
completed  his  studies  at  Washington  preparato: 
entering  college,  in  nine  months,  taking  his  place 
freshman  class  of  the  State  University  at  Ati 
known  as  Franklin  College,  in  August,  1828. 
graduated  in  1832,  borrowed  enough  money 
bis  elder  brother  to  discharge  his  indebtedness  fo: 


;;ob; 


ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS. 


5 


education,  and  at  once  sought  a position  as  a teacher. 
He  found  little  difficulty  in  obtaining  what  he  desired 
in  this  direction,  and  both  as  a public  teacher  and  as 
private  tutor,  displayed  such  marked  abilities,  and  was 
so  successful  in  training  and  educating  the  young,  that 
he  had  no  difficulty  in  earning  a fair  support.  In  the 
Spring  of  1834,  he  began  the  study  of  law  in  Crawfords- 
ville,  where  also  he  took  a small  position  in  the  Sheriff’s 
office  On  the  22nd  day  of  July  of  the  same  year,  he 
- was  admitted  to  the  Bar,  being  complimented  on  the 
examination  for  having  presented  a more  than  usually 
successful  appearance.  Refusing  a good  offer  of  a 
; partnership  in  Columbus,  Georgia,  Mr.  Stephens  settled 
y down  to  such  law  practice  as  he  could  obtain  in  Craw- 
fords ville  and  vicinity,  living  “ on  six  dollars  a month, 
x making  his  own  fires,  blacking  his  own  boots,  and 
■_[  earning  four  hundred  dollars  the  first  year.” 

J The  period  immediately  succeeding  his  admission  to 
the  Bar,  or  for  the  next  few  years,  was,  to  the  young 
.[lawyer,  one  of  sore  straits  and  great  doubt  as  to  the 
.probabilities  of  success.  He  was  poor,  sickly,  without 
.influential  backing,  having,  as  it  would  appear,  nothing 
in  his  favor,  save  a determination  to  persevere,  and  un- 
bounded industry;  that  behind  all  this,  awakening  and 
btmi'clling  these  faculties,  lay  the  great  dominant  force 
l|ie  atitive  genius,  was  at  this  time  as  little  appreciated 
ijiis  cAJexander  H.  Stephens  as  it  was  by  the  towns- 
jthipple  and  surrounding  planters,  who  so  often  scoffed 
| loads  puny  figure  and  laughed  at  his  disproportionate 
2 isteoition.  This  was  the  fact,  however,  and  in  try- 
1 bro  his  very  first  case  of  importance,  Stephens  displayed 
4 n/ombination  of  qualities  which  at  once  awakened  the 
I Ifilmiration  of  those  who  witnessed  the  exhibition. 


6 


TEE  LIFE  OF 


The  case  was  one  which  involved  the  possession  and 
legal  guardianship  of  a chill,  the  rival  claimants  being 
the  mother  and  the  paternal  grandfather.  This  situation  ' 
gave  Stephens  his  first  opportunity  for  displaying  his 
wonderful  powers  in  addressing  a jury,  and  his  skill 
in  turning  circumstances  and  conditions  to  the  advan- 
tage of  his  case.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  he  won  the 
latter,  having  moreover  produced  the  most  profound 
impression  ever  known  in  that  circuit  in  connection, 
with  so  young  a lawyer. 

The  Bar  of  the  northern  circuit  of  Georgia  con- 
tained at  this  time  a dozen  men  whose  peers  it  would 
have  been  difficult  to  have  found  in  any  state  in  the 
Union.  Robert  Toombs,  Francis  H.  Cone,  Joseph  H. 
Lumpkin,  and  William  C.  Dawson,  had  national  repu- 
tations. With  these  men  Stephens  was  brought  into  im- 
mediate rivalry,  and  within  two  years  was  considered 
the  equal  of  any  one  of  them.  During  this  period  he  1 
was  fortunate  also  in  having  exceptionally  good  health, 
although  in  1836  his  weight  was  only  ninety-six  pounds,  j 
this  being,  however,  more  than  he  had  ever  weighed 
before. 

In  the  year  last  named,  Stephens  was  nominated  for 
the  lower  house  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State, 
and  elected  in  spite  of  serious  opposition.  Although 
only  twenty-four  years  of  age,  he  had  made  hims^  tf 
obnoxious  to  a certain  class  of  the  community  by  his  prd.  4 
nounced  stand  against  certain  favorite  political  and 
social  dogmas.  He  was  the  open  enemy  of  nullification; 1 j 
this  doctrine  was  specially  favored  in  that  county, 
and  it  required  no  little  courage  to  oppose  it  Sim-  i 
ilar  was  the  case  with  regard  to  the  treatment; 
of  “ abolitionists  ” who  ventured  into  the  district  for 
the  purpose  of  circulating  incendiary  documents  among 


ALEXANDER  E.  STEPHENS. 


7 


- 

the  slaves.  Several  counties  in  Georgia  had  formed 
::  vigilance  committees  for  the  purpose  of  the  arrest  and 
: summary  punishment  of  these  invaders,  and  a similar 
organization  was  now  proposed  for  the  county  of  Tal- 
13  liaferro.  Against  this  proposition  Stephens  flung  him- 
self  almost  single-handed  in  the  debates  which  occurred 
3:  in  regai’d  to  it,  at  the  public  meetings  which  were  held 
::  for  the  purpose  of  indorsing  and  following  the  course 
] . of  the  other  counties.  Public  feeling  ran  very  high  on 
| this  question,  as  would  be  supposed,  and  it  required  a 
:■  vast  amount  of  moral  courage  to  face  it;  but  Stephens 
placed  himself  firmly  on  the  supremacy  of  the  law,  and 
from  this  position  nothing  could  move  him.  In  the 
course  of  the  debates,  he  signally  manifested  the  powers 
which,  later  on  in  life,  were  to  become  of  such  grave 
importance  in  a broader  field  and  larger  arena. 
Persuasion  and  stern  injunction,  by  turns,  sustained 
by  an  extraordinary  accumulation  of  legal  lore  and 
illustration — extraordinary  for  one  so  young  and  inex- 
perienced— the  adroit  use  of  these  weapons  resulted  in 
the  success  of  the  brilliant  young  orator;  the  resolutions 
in  favor  of  the  vigilance  committee  were  defeated  by  a 
large  majority.  The  result  of  this  incident,  as  we  have 
signified,  was  to  awaken  a widespread  spirit  of  opposi- 
tion, when  Mr.  Stephens  appeared  before  the  county 
as  a candidate  for  the  Assembly.  Despite  this,  how- 
ever, and  though  he  was  seized  just  at  the  time  of  the 
election  with  a serious  attack  of  illness,  he  defeated  his 
antagonist  by  nearly  two  to  one. 

During  the  first  session  which  he  attended  at  Mlli- 
edgeville,  the  state  capitol,  Stephens  was  sick  most  of 
the  time,  but  even  under  such  adverse  circumstances, 
and  in  a body  of  men  distinguished  for  ability,  suc- 
ceeded in  gaining  for  himself  a high  reputation  both  for 


8 


TEE  LIFE  OF 


his  forensic  ability  and  for  his  good  judgment  and 
general  accuracy.  The  style  of  Mr.  Stephens’  oratory 
may  be  best  indicated  by  the  following  quotation  from 
a letter  written  by  him  during  this,  his  first  legislative 
experience. 

“ I have,  since  I came  here,  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  words  are — if  you  please — moral  instruments  capa- 
ble of  effecting  much,  when  properly  applied  and 
directed.  And  it  is  altogether  useless,  at  any  and  all 
times  to  talk,  without  having  in  view  some  object  to 
effect.  In  legislating  in  Georgia,  it  is  waste  of  breath 
for  a man  to  talk  about  Greece  and  Rome,  Scipio  and 
Hannibal,  Tyre  and  Carthage,  or  any  of  that  learned 
sort  of  lore.  If  one  indulges  much  in  it.  he  is  soon 
looked  upon  as  a fool,  speaking  in  an  ‘ unknown 
tongue,’  and  very  properly  so  too.  Eloquence,  true 
eloquence,  is  certainly  in  some  degree  an  art;  but  in 
nothing  more  than  in  selecting  and  fitting  the  matter  to 
the  time, place, and  circumstances.  The  whole  generation 
of  our  young  orators,  instead  of  reading  Blair  for  rules, 
Scott  and  Addison  for  figures,  and  Byron  and  Shake- 
speare for  quotations,  had  better  be  studying  their  sub- 
ject, and  thinking  to  whom  they  are  going  to  present 
it,  and  how  they  will  most  probably  engage  attention, 
and  produce  conviction  in  the  minds  of  those  to  whom 
it  is  presented.  Success  in  producing  conviction  is  the 
object  of  oratory.” 


CHAPTER  II. 


ELECTION  TO  CONGRESS — CONDITION  OP  POLITICS — 
THE  “GEORGIA  PLATFORM ’’—SPEECH  ON  THE 
MEXICAN  TREATY  QUESTION. 

Mr.  Stephens  was  re-elected  to  the  assembly  con- 
tinuously until  1841,  when  he  positively  declined  re- 
election,  the  persistency  with  which  ill-health  had 
followed  him  having  rendered  it  necessary  that  he 
should  take  a period  of  rest.  In  1842,  however,  he  was 
elected  to  the  State  Senate,  which  he  left  in  the  follow- 
ing year  to  enter  Congress. 

By  this  time  Mr.  Stephens  was  considered  one  of  the 
ablest  lawyers  in  the  state.  He  was  also  not  unknown 
through  the  nation,  having  made  a sea  voyage  as  far 
as  Boston,  and  also  traveled  over-land,  visiting  Sara- 
toga Springs,  New  York,  Baltimore  and  Washington, 
and  making  the  acquaintance  of  public  men  wherever 
he  found  himself. 

Politics  throughout  the  country  was  nearing  the 
transition  period.  In  the  interval  between  the  down- 
fall of  the  old  Whig  party  and  the  birth  of  the  Repub- 
lican party,  there  was  to  be  a general  divergence  of 
party  lines,  and  a shaking  up  of  party  affiliations. 


10 


THE  LIFE  OF 


Entering  Congress  as  a Whig,  Mr.  Stephens  continued 
to  vote  and  work  with  that  party  until  the  period  of  its 
dissolution,  at  which  time  his  opinions  tending  towards 
opposition  to  the  strengthening  abolition  tendency  of 
the  North,  he  became  identified  with  the  “resistance 
party,”  as  it  was  called,  which,  in  the  South  was  the 
inception  of  the  pro-slavery  and  state  rights  Democracy 
of  the  future. 

Even  to  Washington  City,  Alexander  H.  Stephens’ 
customary  misfortune  as  regarded  health,  followed  him 
with  unfailing  pertinacity.  Immediately  upon  his  arriv- 
al, after  his  election  to  Congress,  he  was  stricken  down, 
and  was  near  dying.  On  entering,  his  right  to  his  seat  be- 
came the  subject  of  contest,  on  account  of  an  electional 
question  existing  between  Congress  and  the  States, but  he 
gained  his  cause.  Mr.  Stephens  voted  for  Harrison  in 
1840, and  for  Clay,  in  opposition  to  Mr.  Polk,  in  1844.  He 
favored  the  acquisition  of  Texas,  but  opposed  the  Mexi  - 
can War,  on  constitutional  principles.  The  admission 
of  California  into  the  Union  in  1850,  awakened  a seces- 
sion movement  in  the  South,  to  which  Mr.  Stephens 
was  opposed.  During  the  Autumn  of  that  year,  he 
traveled  through  his  state,  making  speeches  in  every 
part  of  it,  in  behalf  of  the  Union  under  the  Constitu- 
tion. The  “Georgia  Platform,”  of  1850,  becomes  at 
this  date  an  interesting  document,  signifying  as  it  did, 
the  awakened  sensitiveness  of  the  South  on  the  subject 
of  slavery.  This  platform  contained  five  sections. 
The  first  set  forth  that  the  American  Union  was 
“secondary  in  importance  only  to  the  rights  and  prin- 
ciples it  was  designed  to  perpetuate.”  Second,  that  if  the 
thirteen  original  parties  to  the  compact  found  compro- 
mise necessary,  the  thirty-one  in  existence  in  1850  might 
yield  somewhat  to  preserve  the  integrity  of  the  Union. 


ALEXANDER  E.  STEPHENS. 


11 


Third,  that  the  State  of  Georgia,  while  not  approving, 
consented  to  abide  by  the  action  of  Congress  in  regard 
to  the  admission  of  California;  tbs  suppression  of  the 
slave  trade  in  the  District  of  Columbia ; the  extradition 
of  fugitive  slaves,  etc.  Fourth,  that  the  State  of 
Georgia  would  and  ought  to  resist,  even  to  the  point  of 
severing  its  connection  with  the  Union,  “any  future 
Act  of  Congress  abolishing  slavery  in  the  District  of 
Columbia,  without  the  consent  and  petition  of  the 
slave  holders  thereof,  or  any  Act  abolishing  slavery  in 
places  within  the  slaveholding  states  purchased  by  the 
United  States  for  the  erection  of  forts,  magazines, 
arsenals,  dock-yards,  navy-yards,  and  other  like 
purposes,  or  in  any  act  suppressing  the  slave  trade 
between  slaveholding  states,  or  in  any  refusal  to 
admit  as  a state  any  territory  applying,  because  of 
the  existence  of  slavery  therein,  or  in  any  act  pro- 
hibiting the  introduction  of  slaves  into  the  terri- 
tories of  Utah  and  New  Mexico,  or  in  any  act  repealing 
or  materially  modifying  the  laws  now  in  force  for  the 
recovery  of  fugitive  slaves.”  Fifth,  “ that  it  is  the  de- 
liberate opinion  of  this  Convention  that,  upon  the 
faithful  execution  of  the  fugitive  slave  bill  by  the 
proper  authorities  depends  the  preservation  of  our  much 
loved  Union.”  Ten  years  later,  in  a speech  which  he 
made  in  Atlanta,  Georgia,  Hon.  Stephen  A.  Douglas 
said  of  these  five  propositions  that  “each  of  them  was 
just  and  right  of  itself.  I stand  by  each  of  them  to-day. 
I have  stood  by  them  from  the  time  I entered  public  life 

down  to  this  hour Iam  told  that  some  of 

those  opposed  to  me  are  in  the  habit  of  saying  that  I 
construe  the  Georgia  Platform  differently  from  what 
they  do.  I never  construed  it  at  all.  It  is  so  plain  that 
it  does  not  admit  of  any  two  constructions.  It  con- 


12 


THE  LIFE  OF 


strues  itself ; but  if  there  is  any  doubt,  any  possible 
ambiguity  upon  that  point,  I will  take  Georgia’s  own 
construction  of  it.  The  Georgia  Platform  was  predi- 
cated upon  the  principles  incorporated  in  the  com- 
promise measures  of  1850.” 

It  has  been  deemed  desirable  to  quote  to  this  extent 
from  the  current  political  history  of  the  period  in  ques- 
tion, with  the  view  of  indicating  the  nativity  and 
growth  of  the  opinions  which  from  that  time  forward 
dictated  the  important  acts  of  Alexander  H.  Stephens. 
Upon  the  foundation  afforded  by  the  Platform  whose 
propositions  we  have  enumerated  was  based  the  consti- 
tutional Union  party.  It  is  a remarkable  fact  in  the 
political  history  of  this  country,  that  this  party  would 
have  supported  Daniel  Webster,  had  that  immortal 
statesman  not  closed  his  earthly  career  just  before  the 
election.  It  is  stated  as  a fact  that  many  persons  in 
Georgia,  and  including  Robert  Toombs  and  Alexander 
H.  Stephens,  showed  their  respect  for  the  great  Ex- 
pounder of  the  Constitution  by  voting  for  him  after  he 
was  dead. 

To  recapitulate:  In  1840  Mr.  Stephens,  as  a state 
rights  man,  supported  Harrison,  in  1844  he  supported 
Mr.  Clay;  in  1845  he  was  united  with  the  Democratic 
party  on  the  admission  of  Texas;  but  in  1846  and  1847 
he  was  with  Mr.  Calhoun  and  the  Whig  party  on  the 
Mexican  war.  In  pursuance  of  this  policy,  Mr. 
Stephens  supported  General  Taylor  for  election  in  1848, 
and  his  administration  until  1850,  when  he  disapproved 
of  it.  In  1854,  he  defended  the  principles  of  the 
Kansas-Nebraska  Act,  which  was  claimed  by  him  and 
by  Judge  Douglas  to  conform  exactly  to  the  principles 
affirmed  by  the  compromise  measures  of  1850, 


ALEXANDER  II.  STEPHENS. 


13 


The  careful  reader  will  have  observed  the.pxact_con- 
sisteaev  with  which  Mr.  Stephens'  political  conclusions 
had  agreed  with,  himself— despite  their  not  infrequent 
disagreement  with  party  tenets;  in  fact,  Alexander  H. 
Stephens  was  in  no  sense  a partisan.  Throughout  his 
life,  he  subordinated  party  fealty  to  principle,  holding 
abstract  justice  highest  in  his  esteem,  and  after  that  the 
good  and  policy  of  his  country.  Meanwhile,  he  did 
not  permit  his  relations  with  men  to  be  disturbed,  or 
his  regard  for  them  to  be  alienated  on  account  of  polit- 
ical differences.  Whenever  any  such  incident  occurred 
it  was  occasioned  either  by  the  parties  themselves,  or 
through  the  instrumentality  of  injudicious  friends. 
While  he  refused  to  support  General  Scott  for  the 
Presidency  in  1852,  this  was  on  account  of  the 
general’s  failure  to  endorse  the  principles  of  the 
compromise  measures  of  1850.  So  far  was  Mr.  Stephens 
from  not  appreciating  the  general's  military  worth  and 
his  great  public  services,  that  it  was  mainly  through 
his  personal  effort  that  the  chieftain  had  conferred  upon 
him  the  rank  of  Lieutenant  General.  Mr.  Stephens’ 
political  life  for  this  time  concluded  with  the  election 
of  Jlr.  Buchanan,  whom  he  had  opposed.  The  quarrel 
between  the  latter  and  Judge  Douglas  he  viewed  with 
great  disapproval,  considering  it  not  only  unwise  and 
impolitic,  but  unjust.  Foreseeing  the  disruption  of  the 
Democratic  party  at  the  Charleston  Convention,  he  re- 
tired to  private  life,  fitly  characterizing  his  own  action 
by  one  of  his  quaint  and  original  expressions : — ‘ ‘ When 
I see  the  engineer  is  reckless,  and  expect  a smash-up 
ahead,  I always  get  off  at  the  first  station.” 

As  still  further  illustrating  the  peculiar  nature  of  Mr. 
Stephens’  mind,  the  firmness  of  his  convictions,  the 
fixedness  of  his  purpose,  and  his  remarkable  prescience 


14 


THE  LIFE  OF 


in  the  consideration  of  affairs,  we  may  quote  from  a 
-speech  made  by  him  oa  the  12th  of  February,  1847,  in 
the  House  of  Representatives,  on  the  question  of  the 
appropriation  of  three  millions  of  dollars  to  enable  the 
President  to  conclude  a treaty  with  Mexico,  he  said: 

“Mr.  Chairman:  It  is  useless  to  attempt  to  disguise 
the  fact  or  to  affect  to  he  blind  to  the  truth  that  this 
country  is  now  surrounded  by  difficulties  of  no  ordinary 
magnitude,  and  fast  approaching  others  which  threaten 
to  be  far  greater  and  more  perilous  than  any  which  have 
ever  been  encountered  since  the  foundation  of  the 
government. 

“ It  is  true,  the  declaration  was  made  the  other  day  by 
a distinguished  Senator  in  his  place,  that  hesaw  no  dan. 
gers  about,  he  espied  nothing  in  the  prospect  to  cause 
alarm  or  apprehension,  and  that  ini.  u opinion,  ‘the  sen. 
tinel  upon  his  watch-tower  might  sing  upon  his  post.’ 
Sir,  whether  this  sentiment  was  expressed  by  authority, 
and  is  to  be  taken  as  the  exponent  of  the  feelings  of  those 
who  are  now  wielding  so  recklessly  the  destinies  of  the 
nation,  I know  not;  but  to  me  it  seems  somewhat 
kindred  to,  if  not  the  legitimate  offspring  of  that  spirit 
which  prompted  Hero  to  indulge  in  music  and  dancing 
when  Rome  was  in  flames.” 

After  denouncing  the  attempt  of  the  administration 
to  prevent  free  speech  concerning  its  acts,  Mr.  Stephens 
went  on  to  speak  of  the  unfair  means  used  in  the  elec 
tion  of  Mr.  Polk : 

“But  if,  in  the  inscrutable  ways  of  Providence,  he 
who  has  been  thus  fraudulently  elevated  to  power 
should  be  the  ill-fated  instrument  of  our  chastisement, 
the  punishment  may  be  just,  but  he  will  take  no  honor 


ALEXANDER  II.  STEPHENS. 


15 


in  its  execution.  If  the  result  of  his  mischievous 
counsels  should  in  any  way  prove  disastrous  to  our  in- 
stitutions— the  stability,  harmony  and  permanency  of 
the  Government — which  there  is  now  abundant  cause 
seriously  to  apprehend,  he  will  certainly  have  no  place 
in  the  grateful  remembrance  of  mankind.  Fame  he 
will  have;  but  it  will  be  of  the  character  of  that  which 
perpetuates  the  name  of  Erostratus.  And  the  more  deeply 
blackened  than  even  his,  as  the  stately  structure  of  this 
government,  the  temple  of  our  liberties,  is  grander  and 
more  majestic  than  the  far-famed  magnificence  of  the 
Ephesian  dome.” 

“ The  crisis,  sir,  requires  not  only  firmness  of  prin- 
ciple, but  boldness  of  speech.  As  the  immortal  Tully 
said,  in  the  days  of  Cataline,  when  Rome  was  threat- 
ened with  the  most  imminent  dangers,  the  time  has 
come  when  the  opinion  of  men  should  not  be  uttered  by 
their  voices  only,  but  ‘ inscriptum  sit  in  fronte  unius 
cujusque  quid  de  respublica  sentit  ’ — it  should  even  be  writ- 
ten upon  the  forehead  of  each  one  what  he  thinks  of  th 
republic — there  should  be  no  concealment.  In  what 
have  to  say,  therefore,  I shall  use  that  character  o' 
speech  which  I think  befitting  the  time  and  occasion.  ” 

Speaking  of  the  Wilmot  proviso  and  the  resolution 
of  the  Legislatures  of  the  States  of  New  York,  Pennsyi 
vania  and  Ohio,  he  said : 

“ They  show  a fixed  determination,  on  the  part  o 
the  North,  which  is  in  a majority  in  this  House,  ana 
ever  will  be  hereafter,  that  if  territory  is  acquired 
the  institutions  of  the  South  shall  be  forever  excluded 
from  its  limits.  This  is  to  be  the  condition  attached  to 
the  bill  upon  your  table ! What  is  to  be  the  result  of 
this  matter?  Will  the  South  submit  to  this  restriction? 


16 


TEE  LIFE  OF 


Will  the  North  ultimately  yield,  or  shall  these  two  great 
sections  of  the  Union  be  arrayed  against  each  other? 
When  the  elements  of  discord  are  fully  aroused,  who 
shall  direct  the  storm?  Who  does  not  know  how  this 
country  was  shaken  to  its  very  centre  by  the  Missouri 
agitation? 

“ Should  another  such  a scene  occur,  who  shall  be 
mighty  enough  to  prevent  the  most  disastrous  conse- 
quences? The  master  spirit  of  that  day  is  no  longer  in 
your  councils.  Shall  another  equally  great  and  patri- 
otic ever  he  found?  Let  not  gentlemen  quiet  their 
apprehensions  by  staving  off  this  question.  It  has  to 
be  met,  and  better  now  than  at  a future  day.  It  had 
better  be  decided  now  than  after  more  blood  and  treas- 
ure have  been  spent  in  the  pursuit  of  that  which  may 
ultimately  be  our  ruin. 

“Upon  the  subject  of  slavery,  about  which  so  much  has 
been  said  in  this  debate,  I shall  say  but  little.  I do  not 
think  it  necessary  te  enter  into  a defence  of  the  charac 
cer  of  the  people  of  my  section  of  the  Union  against 
the  arguments  of  those  who  have  been  pleased  to  de- 
nounce that  institution  as  wicked  and  sinful.  It  is 
sufficient  for  me  and  for  them  that  the  morality  of  that 
institution  stands  upon  a basis  as  firm  as  the  Bible; 
and  by  that  code  of  morals  we  are  content  to  abide 
until  a better  be  furnished.  Until  Christianity  be  over- 
thrown, and  some  other  system  of  ethics  be  substituted, 
the  relation  of  master  and  slave  can  never  be  regarded 
as  an  offence  against  the  divine  laws.  The  character  of 
our  people  speaks  for  itself,  and  a more  generous,  more 
liberal,  more  charitable,  more  benevolent,  more  phil- 
anthropic, and  a more  magnanimous  people,  I venture 
to  say,  are  not  to  be  found  in  any  part  of  this  or  any 
other  country.  As  to  their  piety,  it  is  true,  they  have 


ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS. 


17 


‘ none  to  boast  of,  ’ but  they  are  free  from  that  Pharisa- 
ical sin  of  self-righteousness,  which  is  so  often  displayed 
elsewhere,  of  forever  thanking  the  Lord  that  they  are 
not  as  other  men  are.  . . But  if  bad  counsels  prevail,  if 
all  the  solemn  admonitions  of  the  present  and  the  past 
are  disregarded — if  the  policy  of  the  administration  is 
to  be  carried  out — if  Mexico,  ‘ the  forbidden  fruit,’  is  to 
be  seized  at  every  hazard,  I very  much  fear  that  those 
who  control  public  affairs,  in  their  eager  pursuit  after 
the  unenviable  distinction  of  despoiling  a neisrhb 
republic,  will  have  the  still  less  env'-’-'ie  sU 
ing  back  upon  the  shattered  and  b 
their  own  confederacy.  And  inster 
halls  of  Montezuma,’  of  gloating  O' 
ancient  cities  of  the  Aztecs,  they  ir 
turn  and  behold  in  their  rear  anoth 
pect  of  desolation,  carnage  and  bio 

‘ ‘ Mr.  Chairman,  it  was  asked  by 
man  never  spake,  ‘ What  shall  a m 
gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his 
may  I not,  with  reverence,  ask  w 
profited  as  a nation  if  we  gain  any  pa  me 

whole  of  Mexico,  and  lose  the  Union,  the  <>out  of  our 
political  existence?  The  Union  is  not  only  the  life  but 
the  soul  of  these  states.  It  is  this  that  gives  them  ani- 
mation, vigor,  power,  prosperity,  greatness  and  renown; 
and  from  this  alone  springs  our  hopes  of  immortality  as 
a common  people.  ” 

This  was,  in  many  respects,  a very  remarkable 
speech.  Stephens  was,  at  this  time,  thirty-five  years 
old,  and  the  promise  of  his  youth  for  ill  health  had, 
if  anything,  been  exceeded  by  the  peformance  of 
his  more  mature  years.  At  no  moment  was  he  well; 


18 


THE  LIFE  OF 


usually  his  state  was  one  of  extreme  feebleness  and 
debility,  changing  occasionally  to  fits  of  alarming  and 
serious  illness.  Such  a condition  must  necessarily  have 
preyed  on  his  mind,  and  made  efforts  which  to  men 
in  sound  bodily  condition,  would  have  been  compara- 
tively easy,  to  be  with  him,  matters  of  extreme  diffi- 
culty and  struggle.  It  might  have  been  expected  that 
such  a state  would  have  aroused  in  him  a degree  of 
riorvous  irritability,  which,  in  the  excited  condition  of 
would  have  kept  him  embroiled  in  party  and 
~tr'  instead  of  which,  his  judgment 
ve  been  biased,  his  sense  of  justice 
al  vision  obscured;  the  consequence 
Tas  serene  and  unperturbed,  and  he 
into  any  contest,  no  matter  how 
i plane  higher  than  most  of  his  com- 
lently  in  a more  certain  approxi- 
than  they.  In  this  speech  we  see 
assionate,  yet  eloquent.  His  intel- 
j-edged  sword,  through  the  past  and 
future,  and  recognizes  possible  conclu- 
,sent  action,  which  not  even  the  wisest, 
other  u mmself,  could  venture  to  predict.  We  have 
here  his  opinion  with  regard  to  slavery,  concerning  the 
nature  and  value  of  the  Union,  and  in  relation  to  the 
important  subjects  of  the  acquisition  of  territory 
through  the  processes  of  war  and  conquest.  As  to  each 
of  these  grave  and  important  subjects,  we  see  him 
rising  to  their  own  dignity  and  looking  down  upon  the 
petty  and  selfish  judgments  of  local  politicians,  in  a spirit 
of  grave  displeasure  and  solemn  -warning.  Viewed  in 
this  wise,  this  remarkable  speech  may  be  taken  as,  in 
very  much,  an  index  to  the  character  of  Alexander  H. 
Stephens. 


CHAPTER  III. 


PERSONAL  CHARACTERISTICS  AND  STYLE  OF  ORATORY 
— “ KNOW-NOTHINGISM  ” IN  GEORGIA— OPINION  OF 
MR.  STEPHENS  BY  A GEORGIA  HISTORIAN — THE 
ASSAULT  ON  HIM  BY  JUDGE  CONE — HE  IS  AT- 
TACKED WHILE  UNARMED,  AND  NEARLY  CUT  TO 
PIECES. 

As  we  have  said,  the  great  Georgian  retired  from 
public  life  in  1859,  uncertain,  doubtless,  himself,  as  to 
how  long  that  retirement  might  last.  A writer  at  this 
time  describing  the  prominent  scenes  and  personages 
of  Washington,  alluded  thus  to  the  subject  of  our 
sketch  ■ 

»“Mr.  Stephens,  of  Georgia,  one  of  the  oldest  mem- 
bers of  the  House  of  Representatives,  is  the  most  prom- 
inent man  intellectually,  and  the  most  remarkable  man 
physically,  of  the  few  remaining  celebrities.  From  his 
infancy  he  has  been  an  invalid,  and  the  fearful  effect 
of  suffering  is  shown  in  his  singularly  delicate  frame, 
in  his  pale,  attenuated  face,  and  in  his  feeble  walk.  A 
first  introduction  to  Mr.  Stephens  fairly  startles  you, 
and  it  is  utterly  impossible  to  realize  that  there  stands 
before  you  a man  deservedly  famous  for  his  triumphs 
alike  at  the  bar  and  the  forum ; that  one  so  frail  could, 

13 


20 


TEE  LIFE  OF 


by  his  mental  ability,  give  character  to  the  legislation 
of  a great  people;  but  a few  moments’  conversation, 
however,  only,  are  necessary  to  impress  you  with  the 
feeling  that  you  are  in  the  presence  of  a remarkable 
man.  There  is  the  simplicity  of  a child  in  hi  sman- 
ner,  yet  his  rich  and  varied  experience  crowds  upon 
you  in  anecdote  and  incident,  in  the  statement  of  broad 
principles  and  philosophic  reflections,  and  carries 
you  away  with  the  gentleness  and  the  power  of  a 
deep  and  irresistible  stream.  His  reminiscences  of 
great  men  are  charming  beyond  expression,  and  he 
seems  particularly  fond  of  dwelling  upon  the  mental 
characteristics  of  such  men  as  Crawford,  Clay,  Webster 
and  their  compeers,  analyzing  with  singular  perception 
their  peculiarities,  and  by  happy  flashes  of  illustra- 
tion giving  you  a key  to  their  characters — crystallizing 
them,  indeed,  until  you  could  see  through  and  through 
them  and  understand  them  as  if  you  had  a new  sense 

of  mental  perception When  Mr.  Stephens 

rises  to  speak,  there  is  a sort  of  electric  communication 
among  the  audience,  as  if  something  was  about  to  be 
uttered  that  was  worth  listening  to.  The  loungers  take 
their  seats,  and  the  talkers  become  silent,  thus  paying 
an  involuntary  compliment  to  Mr.  Stephens’  talents  and 
high  claims  as  a gentleman.  At  first  his  voice  is 
scarcely  distinguishable;  but  in  a few  moments  you 
are  surprised  at  its  volume,  and  you  are  soon  convinced 
that  his  lungs  are  in  perfect  order;  and  as  his  ideas  flow, 
you  are  not  surprised  at  the  rapt  attention  he  com- 
mands. His  style  of  speaking  is  singularly  polished; 
but  he  conceals  his  art,  and  appears,  to  the  superficial 
observer,  to  be  eloquent  by  inspiration.  The  leading 
characteristic  of  his  mind  is  great  practical  good  sense, 
for  his  arguments  are  always  of  the  most  solid  and 


ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS. 


21 


logical  kind ; hence  his  permanent  influence  as  a states- 
man, while  his  bright  scintillation  of  wit  and  profuse 
adornment  secure  him  a constant  popularity  as  an 
orator.  Possessed  of  a mind  too  great  to  be  restrained 
by  mere  partisan  influence,  he  has  therefore  the  widest 
possible  field  of  action — at  one  time  heading  a forlorn 
hope,  and  leading  it  to  victory;  at  another  giving  grace 
and  character  to  a triumphant  majority.  Common  as 
it  is  to  impugn  the  motives  of  many  of  our  public 
servants,  and  charge  them  directly  with  corruption, 
Mr.  Stephens  has  escaped  without  even  the  taint  of 
suspicion;  an  inflexible  honesty  of  purpose  on  his  part, 
as  a governing  principle,  is  awarded  to  him  by  his 
veriest  political  foe.” 

An  important  period  in  Mr.  Stephens’  political  life, 
was  one  to  which  we  have  hitherto  only  indirectly 
alluded,  but  as  to  which  something  more  definite  should 
be  said.  This  was  the  period  of  ‘‘  Know-nothingism,” 
concerning  which,  in  its  relation  to  the  State  of  Georgia, 
Col.  I.  W.  Avery  writes  as  follows: 

‘‘Crushed  in  the  national  contest,  and  hopelessly 
riven  in  the  Southern  States,  the  Whig  party  found  a 
temporary  refuge  in  this  new-fangled  American  party. 
It  had  a large  following  in  Georgia  for  a while,  and  a 
respectable  one  too.  It  was  bitterly  fought.  Ex-Gov. 
McDonald,  Howell  Cobb,  Alex.  H.  Stephens,  Eobert 
Toombs,  and  Hiram  Warner  wrote  strong  letters  against 
it,  while  Mr.  Stephens  made  some  of  the  ablest  speeches 
of  his  career  on  this  subject.  The  term  of  Mr.  Stephens 
in  Congress  was  out.  He  was  uncertain  of  running 
again.  He  wrote  a letter  against  “Know-nothingism,” 
in  response  for  a request  for  his  views.  He  was  vigor- 
ously assailed  and  declared  to  have  made  his  political 


22 


THE  LIFE  OF 


shroud,  when  with  that  defiant  audacity  that  has 
marked  his  life,  he  announced  his  candidacy,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  test  the  issue  of  his  “ political  shroud.”  His 
speeches  were  masterpieces,  and  he  converted  the 
shroud  into  a wreath  of  political  laurels,  returning  to 
Congress  by  a majority  of  over  two  thousand.” 

It  was  characteristic  of  the  conservatism  of  Mr. 
Stephens’  nature,  that  he  should  have  opposed 
the  doctrines  of  “ Know-nothingism,”  a leading 
element  in  which  was  the  proscription  of  the  for- 
eign-horn portion  of  the  population  on  that  ground 
alone,  and  without  regard  to  other  points  of  qual- 
ification. Inasmuch  as  we  have  quoted  from  Col- 
onel Avery,  the  brilliant  author  of  the  “ History  of 
the  State  of  Georgia,  from  1850  to  1881,”  we  will  give 
here  this  gentleman’s  summary  of  his  opinion  of  Mr. 
Stephens,  an  opinion  which,  at  the  time  it  was  written 
— 1880— had  become  that  of  the  better  class  of  mind, 
not  in  Georgia  alone,  but  in  the  whole  South,  and  in 
the  North  as  well,  wherever  the  character  of  the  raan 
was  understood.  Col.  Avery  wrote  of  him  as  follows: 

“ Another  vital  personality  was  that  remarkable  man, 
Alexander  H.  Stephens.  He,  too,  was  a Union  man.  It 
is  hard  to  write  about  Alec  Stephens.  He  has  been  all 
his  life  a human  miracle.  His  advent  into  public  life, 
nearly  half  a century  ago,  was,  and  his  career  ever 
since  has  continued  to  be,  a wonder.  Antithesis  has 
been  exhausted  in  describing  the  man,  and  yet  there  is 
no  adequate  portraiture  of  him.  For  forty  years  and 
more,  Mr.  Stephens  has  held  a foremost  place  in  the 
affairs  of  the  State  and  Nation,  and  his  name  and 
speeches,  overleaping  the  bounds  of  the  continent, 
reached  the  old  world,  rendering  him  famous,  and  illus- 


ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS. 


23 


trating  Georgia.  His  purity  of  life,  public  spirit,  stain- 
less integrity,  devotion  to  principle,  love  of  truth,  sim- 
plicity of  character,  munificenf  charity,  lofty  patriotism, 
independence  of  popular  prejudice,  sincerity  of  con- 
viction, indomitable  courage,  magnetic  eloquence  aDd 
vigorous  statesmanship,  have  all  been  continuously  dis- 
played in  his  long,  useful  and  brilliant  public  career, 
and  form  a noble  example  for  the  imitation  of  our 
ambitious  young  men. 

“That  a mind  so  powerful  and  a spirit  so  knightly 
should  inhabit  a body  so  diseased  and  frail,  has 
been  the  miracle  of  his  conspicuous  life.  At 
any  time  during  his  laborious  and  honored  existence, 
his  death  could  not  have  surprised;  yet  his  physical 
frailty  never  impaired  his  public  usefulness.  Nearly 
seventy  years  of  age,  he  is  still  at  his  post  of  duty,  fill- 
ing in  his  own  unequaled  way  the  place  in  which  he 
has  won  his  proudest  triumphs  and  most  lasting  fame — 
a congressman  from  Georgia,  a representative  of  the 
people  and  chosen  by  the  people — Georgia’s  great  Com- 
moner, the  people  that  he  has  loved  so  well  and  the 
state  that  he  has  so  faithfully  served  and  resplendently 
illustrated,  delight  to  honor  him,  and  hold  his  solid 
fame  as  one  of  her  most  precious  heritages. 

“ Mr.  Stephens,  too,  was  one  of  the  strong  Union  men, 
and  to  the  very  last  his  potential  voice  was  heard  elo- 
quently protesting  and  unanswerably  arguing  against 
secession.  Mr.  Stephens  has  been  a statesman  and  an 
orator,  but  the  quality  that  more  than  all  others  has 
tended  to  give  him  his  vast  public  influence,  has  been 
his  wonderful  moral  intrepidity.  It  is  a rare  quality, 
heaven-born  and  God-like — such  moral  courage  as  he  has 
shown  all  his  life  long.  No  adverse  public  opinion  has 
had  any  terrors  for  this  fearless  statesman.  Majorities 


zA 


THE  LIFE  OF 


have  been  utterly  powerless  to  sway  him.  No  unpopu- 
larity, no  prejudice,  no  popular  frenzy  has  ever  moved 
his  firm  soul  one  hair’s-breadth  from  any  conviction,  or 
prevented  any  utterance  he  deemed  the  truth.  This  is 
remarkable  praise,  but  it  is  due  to  the  man.  But  even 
the  miraculous  Stephens  was  unable  to  stem  the  revolu- 
tion. The  storm  was  coming,  and  Toombs  was  its 
genius.” 

This  is  indeed  “ remarkable  praise,”  the  more  re- 
markable from  being  at  the  hands  of  a prominent  Con- 
federate cavalry  officer,  who  illustrates  in  his  character- 
ization of  Mr.  Stephens,  the  general  sense  of  justice 
which  usually  prevailed  among  the  more  intelligent 
Southern  men,  and  also  the  profound  impression  which 
had  been  made  by  Mr.  Stephens’  extraordinary  moral 
and  mental  endowments. 

And  here,  although  the  date  of  its  occurrence  was 
long  before  the  period  we  have  reached,  1860,  we 
may  relate  a story  illustrating  the  physical  courage  of 
Mr.  Stephens,  that  of  his  rencontre  with  Judge  Cone, 
which  took  place  in  1848;  we  quote  the  report  of  this 
occurrence  from  a description  of  it  given  by  a corre- 
spondent of  the  Cincinnati  Commercial : 

“During  Mr.  Stephens’  congressional  service,  and 
pending  the  campaign  of  1848,  he  returned  from  Wash- 
ington to  Georgia.  He  was  fresh  from  the  great  debates 
on  the  acquisition  of  California  and  New  Mexico  as 
United  States  territories,  and  for  having  taken,  against 
the  wishes  of  a majority  of  the  Southern  members,  a 
most  prominent  part  in  opposition  to  such  acquisition, 
he  was  met  with  much  adverse  criticism.  Judge  Cone, 
who  was  at  the  time  one  of  the  leading  politicians  of 
Georgia,  was  particularly  severe  in  his  comments  on 


ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS. 


25 


Mr.  Stephens’  action,  and  was  reported  as  having 
publicly  denounced  him  as  a traitor  to  the  South. 

“ Hardly  had  Mr.  Stephens  reached  his  home  when 
these  and  similar  reports  were  conveyed  to  him.  At 
first  he  did  not  credit  them,  but  as  one  kind  friend 
after  another  informed  him  that  Cone  had  called  him 
a traitor,  and  advised,  in  the  true  Southern  spirit,  that 
he  owed  it  to  himself  to  demand  what  is  called  ‘ satis- 
faction,’ the  fires  of  pugnacity  in  his  nature,  which  are 
always  smouldering,  hissed  up,  and  he  declared  that  if 
Judge  Cone  would  admit  having  called  him  a traitor  to 
the  South  he  would  ‘ slap  his  face.’  Not  long  after  this 
he  met  the  Judge  at  a numerously  attended  Whig 
gathering,  and  going  up  to  him  quietly  said: 

“ ‘ Judge  Cone,  I have  been  told  that  you,  for  reasons 
of  your  own,  have  denounced  me  as  a traitor  to  the 
South,  and  I take  this  opportunity  of  asking  you  if  such 
reports  are  true. ' 

“ ‘No,  sir,’  was  Cone's  reply,  ‘they  are  not  true.  ’ 

“‘I  am  very  glad  to  hear  you  say  so,’  said  Mr. 
Stephens,  cordially;  and  in  the  same  friendly  tone  con- 
continued:  ‘ Of  course  I do  not  desire  to  be  in  any  way 
offensive  to  you,  Judge  Cone,  but  in  order  that  we  may 
have  no  further  misunderstanding  through  the  misrep- 
resentation of  others,  I think  it  right  to  tell  you  that  I 
have  said  I would  slap  your  face  if  you  admitted  having 
used  the  language  attributed  to  you.’ 

“ Upon  this  the  judge  again  disowned  having  spoken 
disrespectfully  of  Mr.  Stephens,  and  so  for  the  time  the 
affair  ended.  It  was  the  subject  of  discussion  all  over 
the  State,  however,  and  the  general  verdict  was  that 
Judge  Cone,  a very  powerful  man  by  the  way,  had 
shown  the  white  feather  to  ‘Little  Aleck  Stephens.’ 
In  such  a community  no  public  man  resting  under  such 


26 


THE  LIFE  OF 


a charge  could  hope  either  for  political  preferment  or 
popular  respect.  Cone,  of  course,  knew  this,  and,  very 
much  heated  and  annoyed  by  the  comments  which  were 
being  made  upon  him,  wrote  to  Mr.  Stephens  demand- 
ing immediate  and  public  retraction  of  the  threat.  In 
reply  Mr.  Stephens  wrote  that  the  threat  of  slapping  the 
judge’s  face  had  been  made  contingent  upon  the  truth 
of  reports  regarding  which  he  (Mr.  Cone)  had  pro- 
nounced to'be  untrue,  and  that  such  being  the  case  there 
could  be  no  cause  for  offence  or  angry  feeling  on 
either  side.  Unfortunately  this  letter  was  never  re- 
ceived by  Judge  Cone.  Three  or  four  days  after  it 
was  written,  however,  he  met  Mr.  Stephens  on  the 
piazza  of  a hotel  in  Atlanta,  and,  disregarding  that 
gentleman’s  friendly  greeting,  said  in  a very  offensive 
tone: 

“ ‘Mr.  Stephens,  I demand  that  you  make  an  imme- 
diate retraction  of  your  threats  regarding  me.’ 

“Sick  and  weak  though  he  was,  Alexander  H. 
Stephens  could  allow  no  one  to  speak  to  him  in  the 
fashion  described.  Judge  Cone  was  a very  giant  in  size 
and  muscular  development,  yet  the  frail  man  whom  he 
addressed,  with  aggravating  politeness,  and  without 
hesitating  a moment,  replied:  ‘ Pardon  me,  sir,  I have 
already  written  to  you  on  that  subject.  I must  decline 
to  discuss  it  further.’ 

“ ‘ Am  I to  take  this  for  your  answer?  ’ asked  Cone, 
excitedly. 

“ ‘ It  is  the  only  answer  I have  to  give  you,’  was  the 
calm  reply. 

“ ‘ Then  I denounce  you  as  a miserable  little  traitor,’ 
cried  Cone,  mad  with  excitement.  The  last  words  had 
hardly  left  his  lips  when  a light  cane,  wielded  by  the 


ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS. 


27 


quick  hand  of  the  man  he  had  insulted,  left  its  red  scar 
across  his  cheek. 

“Wild  with  pain  and  passion,  without  uttering  a 
word,  he  drew  a keen-pointed  dirk  knife  and  made 
one  furious  thrust  at  his  weak  little  adversary’s 
heart.  Instantly  as  he  did  so,  however,  Ste- 
phens, seizing  a stout  umbrella  which  he  held 
in  his  left  hand,  interposed  it  as  a defence,  and  was 
able  for  a moment  to  hold  him  at  arm’s  length. 
The  knife  fell  short  of  its  mark.  Once  more 
it  was  thrust  at  Stephens,  cutting  a deep  gash  in  his 
arm,  but  reaching  no  vital  point;  eighteen  times  it  cut 
deep  into  his  breast,  arms  and  body,  but  still  he  did 
not  fall.  Then  he  could  hold  out  no  longer.  No  cour- 
age, no  spirit,’  however  firm  and  unyielding,  could  long 
withstand  such  an  attack.  Cone  was  determined  to 
finish  his  work.  He  threw  all  his  great  weight  against 
the  umbrella  which  held  him  away  from  the  man  he 
intended  to  kill.  It  broke ; Stephens,  half  fainting,  fell 
upon  his  back.  The  giant  Cone  was  at  his  throat  in  a 
moment;  his  head,  by  a grip  of  iron,  was  held  against 
the  cruel  floor;  the  keen  and  blood-dripping  knife  was 
held  aloft  before  him  ready  for  the  last  fatal  thrust,  but 
still  the  poor,  pale  face  of  the  little  hero  was  set  and 
defiant — his  black  eyes  still  flashed  undauntedly. 

“ ‘Retract,  or  I’ll  cut  your  cursed  throat!’  hissed 
Cone. 

“ 1 Cut!  I’ll  never  retract!  ’ gasped  the  almost  lifeless 
Stephens.” 

Like  a flash  the  knife  came  down.  With  an  almost 
superhuman  efEort  the  prostrate  man  caught  it  in  his 
right  hand.  Clean  through  the  muscles,  tendons  and 
bones  of  the  hand  it  cut,  then  stuck  fast  and  reached  no 


28 


THE  LIFE  OF 


vital  part.  With  desperate  strength  Cone  tried  to 
wrench  it  free.  With  a grasp  almost  of  death  the  hor- 
ribly mangled  and  mutilated  hand  still  held  it  fast.  In 
the  struggle  Stephens  was  once  more  dragged  to  his  feet. 
The  blood  was  rushing  in  streams  from  his  many 
wounds.  His  hold  upon  the  knife  which  sought  his 
brave  heart  began  to  relax.  He  was  dying.  But  even 
when  he  believed  the  next  moment  would  be  his  last 
strong  men  came  to  his  relief.  The  madman  Cone  was 
secured  and  held  fast. 

“Then  quickly  the  wounds  which  Mr.  Stephens  had 
received  were  examined.  It  was  found  that  one  of 
them  had  penetrated  to  within  a sixteenth  of  an  inch 
of  his  heart.  An  intercostal  artery  had  bpen  cut.  The 
doctors  declared  that  he  would  surely  die.  Happily 
their  predictions  were  not  verified.  His  life  was  saved 
by  the  unremitting  care  of  a surgeon,  his  devoted 
friend,  who,  as.  good  fortune  would  have  it,  happened 
to  be  in  Atlanta  at  the  time.  When  he  recovered  with 
magnanimity  of  which  few  men  are  capable  even  of 
understanding,  he  refused  to  prosecute  Cone,  and  that 
person,  instead  of  getting  his  deserts  in  the  dark  cell  of 
a state  prison,  was  fined  £1  000,  and,  with  his  honor 
‘vindicated,’ was  allowed  to  go  free.  To  the  day  of 
his  death  Mr.  Stephens  spoke  of  him  in  terms  of  con- 
sideration and  forgiveness.  Not  long  ago,  referring  to 
the  terrible  struggle  I have  attempted  to  describe,  and 
showing  me  the  great  hole  in  his  mangled  hand,  he 
said,  with  a quiet  and  far-away  look  in  his  deep  dark 
eyes:  ‘Poor  Cone!  I’m  sure  he’d  be  sorry  if  he  knew 
what  trouble  I have  to  write  with  these  stiff  fingers  of 
mine.’  ” 


ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS. 


29 


This  anecdote  of  Mr.  Stephens’  career  has  been  pre- 
served, and  is  still  told  with  considerable  emphasis  in 
Georgia,  as  illustrative  of  a state  of  society  which  has 
been  materially  changed  since.  The  present  writer 
heard  the  incident  impressively  related  during  a recent 
visit  to  Atlanta,  and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was 
the  most  sanguinary  story  in  connection  with  common- 
place republican  politics  in  the  nineteenth  century,  that 
had  ever  come  to  his  hearing.  It  properly  fills  a place 
in  this  sketch  as  significant  of  one  feature  of  the  poli- 
tics of  the  period  in  the  South,  and  also  as  showing  amid 
what  social  difficulties  the  rise  of  Alexander  H. 
Stephens  to  pre-eminence  was  effected. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


THE  POLITICAL  CAMPAIGN  OP  1860 — ADDRESS  AT  AU- 
GUSTA, GA.,  IN  1859 — A REMARKABLE  PREDICTION 
— IMPORTANT  ADDRESS  DELIVERED  BEFORE  TnE 
LEGISLATURE  AT  MILLEDGEVILLE,  GA. 

In  the  Autumn  of  1859,  the  name  of  Mr.  Stephens  was 
prominently  mentioned  as  a candidate  for  the  presi- 
dency. One  of  the  leading  statesmen  of  the  South 
gave  the  following  grounds  for  his  nomination: 

1.  “ He  is  the  undoubted  choice  of  a large  majority 
of  the  people  of  Georgia. 

2.  “He  is  a true  man  and  an  enlightened  practical 
statesman,  who  would  administer  the  government  with 
ability  and  economy,  in  strict  accordance  with  the 
principles  observed  in  the  early  and  better  days  of  the 
republic. 

3.  “ Because  he  is  an  available  man  for  a candidate, 
the  man  for  the  times,  enjoying  the  confidence  and  re- 
spect of  the  true  friends  of  constitutional  government 
throughout  the  Union. 

4.  “ Because  he  has  not  sought  the  office,  directly  or 
indirectly,  either  by  intriguing  for  the  nomination  or 
suffering  himself  to  be  made  the  instrument  of  any 
particular  clique  or  faction;  consequently,  if  nomi- 
nated and  elected  would  have  no  friends  to  reward  or 


30 


ALEXANDER  E.  STEPHENS. 


31 


enemies  to  punish,  hut  will  faithfully  guard  and  pro- 
tect the  interests  of  the  whole  country,  and  every 
section  of  it,  in  obedience  to  the  Constitution  and  the 
laws  of  the  land.” 

The  relations  of  Mr.  Stephens  to  the  memorable  cam- 
paign which  resulted  in  the  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln 
to  the  presidency,  and  the  downfall  of  African  slavery 
in  the  South,  were  peculiar  and  impressive.  As  we 
have  already  shown,  he  had  long  foreseen  the  possibility 
of  such  a division  of  opinion  between  the  two  sections 
as  should  bring  about  antagonism  certainly,  possibly 
disunion. 

In  the  earlier  part  of  the  canvass,  although  frequently 
solicited  to  speak,  he  refused,  partly  frqm  a sense  of 
its  probable  inutility,  and  partly  on  account  of  the  con- 
dition of  his  health,  which  was  at  this  time  very  feeble. 
He  was,  however,  induced  to  appear  at  a public  meet- 
ing in  Augusta,  September  1,  1859,  and  to  deliver  an 
address,  during  which  he  was  compelled  to  sit  down 
from  exhaustion.  A considerable  portion  of  this  speech 
was  devoted  to  an  examination  of  the  political  position 
of  Judge  Douglas,  one  of  the  two  Democratic  candi. 
dates,  and  was  practically  a recommendation  to  his 
hearers  to  vote  for  that  gentleman.  Proceeding,  he 
made  the  following  emphatic  reference  to  the  condition 
of  affairs : 

“ I do  not  feel,  fellow  citizens,  as  if  in  justice  to  my- 
self I ought  to  attempt  to  say  more  to-night;  but  there 
is  no  cause  in  which  I would  more  willingly  die  thau  in 
the  cause  of  my  country,  and  I would  just  as  soon  falj 
here,  at  this  time,  in  the  advocacy  of  those  principles 
upon  which  its  past  gim,  has  been  achieved,  its  present 
prosperity  and  its  future  nopes  depend,  as  anywhere 


32 


THE  LIFE  OF 


else,  or  on  any  other  occasion.  I told  you  at  the  out- 
set that  the  signs  of  the  times  portend  evil.  I gave  you 
this  as  my  deliberate  judgment;  the  future  must  make 
its  own  disclosures.  But  you  must  not  he  surprised 
to  see  these  states,  now  so  peaceful,  contented, 
prosperous  and  happy,  embroiled  in  civil  war,  in  less 
than  twelve  months.  There  are  occasions  too  grave  for 
excitement  or  any  appeal  to  the  passions.’  Believe  me, 
I mean  all  I say ; the  most  terrific  tornadoes,  those  which 
demolish  cities,  destroy  whole  fleets  and  sweep  every- 
thing before  them,  come  most  unexpectedly;  so  do  the 
most  violent  revolutions  amongst  men.  The  human 
passions  are  the  same  everywhere.  They  are  danger- 
ous elements  for  public  men,  politicians,  and  party 
leaders  to  deal  with.  The  condition  of  the  country 
threatens  the  most  violent  conflict  of  sectional  feeling, 
antipathy  and  animosity  at  no  distant  day.  Should 
an  outbreak  occur,  where  is  the  power  that  can  con- 
trol it?  A ball  may  be  put  in  motion  by  one  who 
cannot  stop  it ; a fire  may  be  kindled  by  hands  that  can- 
not quench  it;  those  who  begin  revolutions  seldom 
end  them.” 

During  the  progress  of  the  campaign,  Mr.  Stephens 
made  two  or  three  other  speeches,  which  were  not  re- 
ported. “ His  speech  in  Columbus,  Georgia,”  says  Mr. 
Cleveland,  “was  one  of  the  grandest  efforts  of  his  life, 
and  of  most  wonderful  effect  upon  his  audience.  In 
the  midst  of  his  impressive  appeal  to  ‘ stand  by  the  Con. 
stitutionin  any  and  every  event,’  the  vast  crowd  arose  to 
their  feet  as  one  man ; and  while  venerable  ministers  of 
the  gospel  and  dignified  statesmen  and  citizens  seemed 
to  vie  with  each  other  in  enthusi^m,  the  prolonged 
Shouts  of  applause  stopped  for  a while  the  utterance  of 


ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS. 


the  orator.”  In  his  speech  at  Dalton,  Georgia,  say 
the  same  writer,  “ he  arose  with  a borrowed  expi 
of  sad  but  sublime  pity  for  the  delusions  and 
sions  of  his  countrymen.  1 Oh  Jerusalem,  Jer 
thou  that  killest  the  prophets  and  stonest  the? 
are  sent  unto  thee,  how  often  would  I have 
thy  children  together  even  as  a hen  gath 
chickens  under  her  wings,  but  ye  would  r 
whole  effort  was  to  rouse  the  people  to  a se 
impending  danger,  to  impress  upon  them  th 
portance  of  adhering  to  their  old  established L 
and  of  sustaining  throughout  the  common 
those  men  who  were  standing  by  those  princ. 
the  only  means  of  maintain ing_ the  Constitution  a 
Union  under  it.” 

Shortly  after,  Judge  Doug&g  made  a speech 
Atlanta,  in  which,  while  expressBtafe.his  own  views  in 
regard  to  the  serious  condition  of  the  times,  his  re- 
marks significantly  sustained  the  position  occupied  by 
Mr/  Stephens.  "Mr.  Douglas  said,  “ I hold  that  there  is 
no  grievance  of  which  we  complain,  for  which  disunion 
would  afford  an  adequate  remedy.  I believe  there  can 
be  no  grievance  in  this  country  for  which  the  Constitu- 
tion and  laws  will  not  afford  ample  remedy  within  the 
Union.  All  that  is  necessary  is  that  each  and  every 
clause  of  the  Constitution  shall  be  carried  into  effect  in 
good  faith.  Every  right  guaranteed  by  that  instrument, 
every  duty  imposed  by  it,  must  be  carefully  protected 
and  faithfully  performed.  So  long  as  we  live  under  a 
Constitution  which  is  the  supreme  law  of  all  the  states, 
it  must  be  executed  in  such  a manner  as  to  afford  equal 
rights  and  equal  protection  to  the  citizens  of  all  the 
states  of  this  confederacy.” 


2 


THE  LIFE  OF 


election  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  which  roused  the  South 
sition  as  one  man,  brought  Mr.  Stephens  to 
front  of  battle,  where,  for  a brief  space  he 
j most  marked  and  emphatic  figure  of  the 
is  agitation  which  was  then  beginning — 
ipressive  and  majestic,  the  bulwark  of 
i against  the  fierce  surges  of  secession 
ition,  which  now  threatened  to  over- 
)n  November  14,  1860,  he  went  to  Milledge- 
the  Legislature  was  in  session,  and  before 
delivered  and  address  which  has  become 
e and  a part  of  the  history  of  the  period, 
.s  important  address  we  desire  to  quote  at  some 
since,  although  it  exerted  no  perceptible  influ- 
over  the  course  of  events,  it  furnishes  material 
uence  both  as  to  the  character  of  Mr.  Stephens  and 
jncerning  his  political  convictions  on  the  great  ques- 
tions at  issue.  After  a few  words  of  introduction,  Mr. 
Stephens  continued  as  follows : 

“My  object  is  not  to  stir  up  strife,  but  to  allay  it;  not 
to  appeal  to  your  passions,  but  to  your  reason.  Good 
government  can  never  be  built  up  or  sustained  by  the 
impulse  of  passion.  I wish  to  address  myself  to  your 
good  sense,  to  your  good  judgment,  and  if,  after  hear- 
ing, you  disagree,  let  us  agree  to  disagree,  and  part  as 
we  met,  friends.  We  all  have  the  same  object,  tbe 
same  interest.  That  people  should  disagree  in  repub- 
lican governments  upon  questions  of  public  policy  is 
natural.  That  men  should  disagree  upon  all  matters 
connected  with  human  investigation,  whether  relating 
to  science  or  human  conduct,  is  natural.  Hence,  in 
free  governments  parties  will  arise.  But  a free  people 
should  express  their  different  opinions  with  liberality 


ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS. 


35 


and  charity,  with  no  acrimony  toward  those  of  their 
fellows,  when  honestly  and  sincerely  given.  These  are 
my  feelings  to-night. 

“Let  us,  therefore,  reason  together.  It  is  not  my 
purpose  to  say  aught  to  wound  the  feelings  of  any  in- 
dividual who  maybe  present;  and  if  in  the  ardency 
with  which  I shall  express  my  opinions,  I shall  say  any- 
thing which  may  he  deemed  too  strong,  let  it  be  set 
down  to  the  zeal  with  which  I advocate  my  own  con- 
victions. There  is  with  me  no  intention  to  irritate  or 
offend. 

“Fellow-citizens,  we  are  all  launched  in  the  same 
bark ; we  are  all  in  the  same  craft  in  the  wide  political 
ocean — the  same  destiny  awaits  us  all  for  weal  or  for 
woe.  We  have  been  launched  in  the  good  old  ship  that 
has  been  upon  the  waves  for  three  quarter0  r.  centmy, 
which  has  been  in  many  tempests  and  storms,  has 
many  times  been  in  peril,  and  patriots  have  often  feared 
that  they  should  have  to  give  it  up,  j-ea,  have  at  times 
almost  given  it  up;  but  still  the  gallant  ship  is  afloat. 
Though  new  storms  now  howl  around  us,  and  the 
tempest  beats  heavily  against  us,  I say  to  you,  don’t 
give  up  the  ship;  don’t  abandon  her  yet.  If  she  can 
possibly  be  preserved,  and  our  rights,  interests,  and 
security  be  maintained,  the  object  is  worth  the  efforts. 
Let  us  not,  on  account  of  disappointment  and  chagrin 
at  the  reverse  of  an  election,  give  up  all  as  lost.  But 
let  us  see  what  can  be  done  to  prevent  a wreck.  . . 

“ The  first  question  that  presents  itself  is,  shall  the 
people  of  the  South  secede  from  the  Union  in  con- 
sequence of  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln  to  the  Presi- 
dency of  the  United  States?  My  countrymen,  I tell 
you  frankly,  candidly  and  earnestly,  that  I do  not 
think  that  they  ought.  In  my  judgment,  the  election 


36 


THE  LIFE  OF 


of  no  man,  constitutionally  chosen  to  that  high  office, 
is  sufficient  cause  for  any  State  to  separate  from 
the  Union.  It  ought  to  stand  by  and  aid  still  in 
maintaining  the  Constitution  of  the  country.  To  make 
a point  of  resistance  to  the  government,  to  withdraw 
from  it  because  a man  has  been  constitutionally  elected, 
puts  us  in  the  wrong.  We  are  pledged  to  maintain  the 
Constitution.  Many  of  us  have  sworn  to  support  it. 
Can  we,  therefore,  for  the  mere  election  of  a man  to 
the  presidency,  and  that,  too,  in  accordance  with  the 
prescribed  forms  of  the  Constitution,  make  a point  of 
resistance  to  the  government,  without  becoming  the 
breakers  of  that  sacred  instrument  ourselves,  by  with- 
drawing ourselves  from  it?  Would  we  not  be  in  the 
wrong?  Whatever  fate  is  to  befall  this  country,  let  it 
never  ut;  ru  id  the  charge  of  the  people  of  the  South, 

and  especially  to  the  people  of  Georgia,  that  we  were 
untrue  to  our  national  engagements.  Let  the  fault  and 
the  wrong  rest  upon  others.  If  all  our  hopes  are  to  be 
blasted,  if  the  Republic  is  to  go  down,  let  us  be  found 
to  the  last  moment  standing  on  the  deck  with  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States  waving  over  our  heads. 
(Applause).  Let  the  fanatics  of  the  North  break  the 
Constitution,  if  such  is  their  fell  purpose.  Let  the  re- 
sponsibility be  upon  them.  I shall  speak,  presently, 
more  of  their  acts;  but  let  not  the  South,  let  us  not  be 
the  ones  to  commit  the  aggression.  We  went  into  the 
election  with  this  people.  The  result  was  diiferent  from 
what  we  wished ; but  the  election  has  been  constitu- 
tionally held.  Were  we  to  make  a point  of  resistance  to 
the  government  and  go  out  of  the  Union  on  that  account, 
the  record  would  be  made  up  hereafter -against  us.  , . 

“ My  countrymen,  I am  not  of  those  who  believe  this 
Union  has  been  a curse  up  to  this  time.  True  men, 


ALEXANDER  U STEPHENS. 


37 


men  of  integrity,  entertain  different  views  from  me  on 
this  subject.  I do  not  question  their  right  to  do  so;  I 
would  not  impugn  their  motives  in  so  doing.  Nor  will 
I undertake  to  say  that  this  government  of  our  fathers 
is  perfect.  There  is  nothing,  perfect  in  this  world  of 
human  origin;  nothing  connected  with  human  nature, 
from  man  himself  to  any  of  his  works.  You  may  select 
the  wisest  and  best  men  for  your  judges,  and  yet  how 
many  defects  are  there  in  the  administration  of  justice? 
You  may  select  the  wisest  and  best  men  for  your  legis- 
lators, and  yet  how  many  defects  are  apparent  in  your 
laws?  And  it  is  so  in  our  government.  But  that  this 
government  of  our  fa' hers,  with  all  its  defects,  comes 
nearer  the  objects  of  all  good  governments  than  any 
other  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  is  my  settled  convic- 
tion  

“ It  may  be  that  we  are  all  that  we  are  in  ‘spite  of 
the  general  government,’  but  it  may  be  that  without 
it  we  should  have  been  far  different  from  what  we 
are  now.  It  is  true  there  is  no  equal  part  of  the 
earth  with  natural  resources  superior,  perhaps,  to 
ours.  That  portion  of  this  country  known  as 
the  Southern  States,  stretching  from  the  Chesa- 
peake to  the  Rio  Grande,  is  fully  equal  to 
the  picture  drawn  by  the  honorable  and  elo- 
quent senator  last  night,  in  all  natural  capacities. 
But  how  many  ages,  centuries,  passed  before  these 
capacities  were  developed,  to  reach  this  advanced 
stage  of  civilization?  There,  these  same  hills,  rich  in 
ore,  same  rivers,  same  valleys  and  plains,  are  as  they 
have  been  since  they  came  from  the  hand  of  the 
Creator.  Uneducated  and  uncivilized  men  roamed 
over  them,  for  how  long  no  history  informs  us. 


38 


1HE  LIFE  OF 


“ It  is  only  under  our  institutions  that  they  could  be 
developed.  Their  development  is  the  result  of  the 
enterprise  of  our  people  under  operations  of  the  govern- 
ment and  institutions  under  which  we  have  lived. 
Even  our  people,  without  these,  never  would  have 
done  it.  The  organization  of  society  has  much  to  do 
with  the  development  of  the  natural  resources  of  any 
country  or  any  land.  The  institutions  of  a people, 
political  and  moral,  are  the  matrix  in  which  the  germ  of 
their  organic  structure  quickens  into  life,  takes  root, 
and  develops  in  form,  nature  and  character.  Our  insti- 
tutions constitute  the  basis,  the  matrix,  from  whence 
spring  all  our  characteristics  of  development  and  great- 
ness. Look  at  Greece ! There  is  the  same  fertile  soil, 
the  same  blue  sky,  the  same  inlets  and  harbors,  the 
same  .Egean,  the  same  Olympus— there  is  the  same 
land  where  Homer  sung,  where  Pericles  spoke— it  is  in 
nature  the  same  old  Greece;  but  it  is  living  Greece  no 
more.  (Applause.)  J 

“ Descendants  of  the  same  people  inhabit  the  coun- 
try; yet  what  is  the  reason  of  this  mighty  differ- 
ence? In  the  midst  of  present  degradation  we  see 
the  glorious  fragments  of  ancient  works  of  art 
— temples  with  ornaments  and  inscriptions  that 
excite  wonder  and  admiration,  the  remains  of  a 
once  high  order  of  civilization,  which  have  outlived  the 
language  they  spoke.  Upon  them  all,  Ichabod  is 
written — their  glory  has  departed.  Why  is  this  so?  I 
answer,  their  institutions  have  been  destroyed.  These 
were  but  the  fruits  of  their  forms  of  government,  the 
matrix  from  which  their  grand  development  sprung; 
and  when  once  the  institutions  of  our  people  shall  have 
been  destroyed,  there  is  no  earthly  power  that  can 
bring  back  the  Promethean  spark  to  kindle  them  here 


ALEXANDER  E.  STEPHENS. 


39 


again  any  more  than  in  that  ancient  land  of  eloquence, 
poetry  and  song.  (Applause.)  The  same  may  he  said 
of  Italy.  Where  is  Rome,  once  the  mistress  of  the 
world?  There  are  the  same  seven  hills  now,  the  same 
soil,  the  same  natural  resources;  nature  is  the  same; 
hut  what  a ruin  of  human  greatness  meets  the  eye  of 
the  traveler  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  that 
most  down-trodden  land!  Why  have  not  the  people  of 
that  heaven-favored  clime  the  spirit  that  animated  their 
fathers?  Why  this  sad  difference?  It  is  the  destruc- 
tion of  her  institutions  that  has  caused  it.  And,  my 
countrymen,  if  we  shall  in  an  evil  hour  rashly  pull 
down  and  destroy  those  institutions  which  the  patriotic 
hand  of  our  fathers  labored  so  long  and  so  hard  to 
build  up,  and  which  have  done  so  much  for  us  and  for 
the  world,  who  can  venture  the  prediction  that  similar 
results  will  not  ensue?  Let  us  avoid  them  if  we 
can.  I trust  that  the  spirit  is  amongst  us  that  will 
enable  us  to  do  it.  Let  us  not  rashly  try  the  experiment 
of  change,  of  pulling  down  and  destroying,  for,  as 
in  Greece  and  Italy  and  the  South  American  republics, 
and  in  every  other  place,  whenever  our  liberty  is  once 
lost,  it  may  never  be  restored  to  us  again.  (Ap- 
plause.)   

“ When  I look  around  and  see  our  prosperity  in  every- 
thing— agriculture,  commerce,  art,  science,  and  every 
department  of  progress,  physical,  mental,  and  moral — 
certainly,  in  the  face  of  such  an  exhibition,  if  we  can, 
without  the  loss  of  power  or  any  essential  right  or  in- 
terest, remain  in  the  Union,  it  is  our  duty  to  ourselves 
and  to  posterity  to  do  so.  Let  us  not  unwisely  yield  to 
this  temptation.  Our  first  parents,  the  first  progeni- 
tors of  the  human  race,  were  not  without  a like  temp- 
tation when  in  the  Garden  of  Eden.  They  were  led  to 


40 


TEE  LIFE  OF 


believe  that  their  condition  would  he  bettered — that 
their  eyes  would  he  opened — and  that  they  would  be- 
come as  gods.  They  in  an  evil  hour  yielded;  instead  of 
becoming  gods,  they  only  saw  their  own  nakedness. 

“ I look  upon  this  country  with  our  institutions,  as 
the  Eden  of  the  world,  the  Paradise  of  the  universe. 
It  may  be  that  out  of  it  we  may  become  greater  and 
more  prosperous;  but  I am  candid  and  sincere  in  tell- 
ing you  that  I fear  if  we  yield  to  passion,  and  without 
sufficient  cause  shall  take  that  step,  that  instead  of  be- 
coming greater ormore peaceful,  prosperous,  andhappy 
— instead  of  becoming  gods,  we  will  become  demons, 
and  at  no  distant  day  commence  cutting  one  another’s 
throats.  This  is  my  apprehension.  Let  us,  therefore, 
whatever  we  do,  meet  these  difficulties,  great  as  they 
are,  like  wise  and  sensible  men,  and  consider  them  in 
the  light  of  all  consequences  which  may  attend  our 
actions.  Let  us  see  first  clearly  where  the  path  of  duty 
leads,  and  then  we  may  not  fear  to  tread  therein.” 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  SOtJTH  CAROLINA  SECESSION  ORDINANCE,  AND  CON- 
VENTIONS IN  SIX  OTHER  SOUTHERN  STATES — THE 
GEORGIA  CONVENTION — MR.  STEPHENS’  VIEWS  ON 
SECESSION — HE  IS  ELECTED  A MEMBER  OF  THE 
GEORGIA  CONVENTION,  AND  VOTES  AGAINST  SECES- 
SION— ELECTED  VICE-PRESIDENT  OF  THE  CONFEDER- 
ACY. 

On  December  20,  1860,  the  South  Corolina  conven- 
tion of  the  people  passed  ah  Ordinance  of " Secession, 
repealing  the  ordinance  which  ratified  the  Constitution 
of  1788,  and  thus  restoring  South  Carolina  to  the  posi- 
tion of  a separate  and  independent  sovereign  State. 
The  six  States  of  Mississippi,  Florida,  Alabama,  Geor- 
gia, Louisiana  and  Texas  followed  the  example  of 
South  Carolina,  and  called  conventions.  That  of  Geor- 
gia was  called  to  meet  at  Milledgeville,  on  January 
16th,  1861.  In  a letter  to  his  brother,  Linton  Stephens, 
written  at  about  this  time,  Alexander  H.  Stephens  ex- 
pressed his  views  concerning  such  action  as  had  already 
taken  place,  or  was  impending  on  the  part  of  the 
Southern  States.  In  this  letter  he  wrote  as  follows: 

“I  have  read  the  address  put  forth  by  the  convention 
at  Charleston  to  the  Southern  States.  It  has  not  im- 


41 


42 


TEE  LIFE  OF 


pressed  me  favorably.  In  it  South  Carolina  clearly 
shows  that  it  is  not  her  intention  to  he  satisfied  with 
any  redress  of  grievances.  Indeed,  she  hardly  deigns 
to  specify  any.  The  slavery  question  is  almost  entirely 
ignored.  Her  greatest  complaint  seems  to  he  the  tariff, 
though  there  is  hut  little  intelligent  or  intelligible 
thought  on  that  subject.  Perhaps  the  less  she  said 
about  it  the  better.  For  the  present  tariff,  on  which  she 
secedes,  is  just  what  her  own  senators  and  members 
in  Congress  made  it.  There  are  general  and  vague 
■Charges  about  consolidation,  despotism  &c.,  and  the 
South  having,  under  the  operation  of  the  general 
government,  been  reduced  to  a minority  incapable  of 
protecting  itself,  etc.  This  complaint  I do  not  think 
well  founded.  It  arises  more  from  a spirit  of  peevish- 
ness, or  restless  fretfulness,  than  from  calm  deliberate 
judgment.  The  truth  is,  the  South,  almost  in  mass, 
has  voted,  I think,  for  every  measure  of  general  legis- 
lation that  has  passed  both  houses  and  become  law,  for 
the  last  ten  years.  Indeed,  with  but  few  exceptions, 
the  South  has  controlled  the  government  in  its  every 
important  action,  from  the  beginning.  The  protective 
policy  was  once,  for  a time,  carried  against  the  South ; 
but  that  was  subsequently  completely  changed.  Our 
policy  ultimately  prevailed.  The  South  put  in  power 
— or  joined  a united  country  in  putting  in  power  and 
sustaining  the  administration  of  Washington,  for  eight 
years.  She  put  in  and  sustained  Jefferson  eight  years, 
Madison  eight  years,  Jackson  eight  years,  Yan  Buren 
four  years,  Tyler  four  years,  Polk  four  years,  Pierce 
four  years,  and  Buchanan  four  years.  That  is,  they 
have  aided  in  making  and  sustaining  the  administration 
for  sixty  years  out  of  the  seventy-two  of  the  govern- 
ment’s existence.  Does  this  look  like  we  were  or  are 


ALEXANDER  II.  STEPHENS. 


43 


in  an  abject  minority,  at  the  mercy  of  a despotic 
northern  majority  rapacious  to  rob  and  plunder  us?  It 
is  true,  we  are  in  a minority,  and  bare  been  a long 
time.  It  is  true  also  that  the  party  at  the  North 
advocate  principles  which  would  lead  to  a despotism, 
and  they  would  rob  us  if  they  had  the  power — I 
have  no  doubt  of  that.  But  by  the  prudent  and  wise 
counsels  of  southern  statesmen,  this  party  has  been 
kept  in  the  minority  in  the  past,  and  by  the  same  pru- 
dent and  wise  statesmanship  on  our  part  I can  but  hope 
and  think  it  can  be  so  for  many  long  years  to  come. 
Sound  constitutional  men  enough  at  the  North  have 
been  found  to  unite  with  the  South  to  keep  that  danger- 
ous and  mischievous  faction  in  the  minority,  and  though 
Lincoln  has  been  elected,  it  ought  to  be  recollected  that 
he  ha9  succeeded  by  a minority  vote,  and  even  this  was 
the  result  of  a dissension  in  the  ranks  of  the  conserva- 
tives or  constitutional  men  north  and  south,  a most  un- 
fortunate and  lamentable  event,  and  the  more  so  from 
the  fact  that  it  was  designedly  effected  by  men  who 
wished  to  use  it  for  ulterior  ends  and  objects. 

“Now  we  have  real  causes  of  complaint  against  the 
North, — or  at  least  against  certain  States  of  the  North, 
— causes  which,  if  not  redressed,  would  justify  the  ex- 
treme course,  the  ultimi  ratio,  on  the  part  of  the  South. 
These,  however,  are  barely  glanced  at  in  the  South 
Carolina  address.  These  causes  are  the  ‘Personal 
Liberty  Acts,’  as  they  are  called,  in  several  of  the 
Northern  States,  and  other  acts  of  their  Legislatures 
which  openly  and  avowedly  refuse  obedience  to,  or 
compliance  with,  their  constitutional  obligation  to 
return  lugitive  slaves.  These  acts  are  in  flagrant 
violation  of  constitutional  obligations;  and  they  con- 


44 


TEE  LIFE  OF 


stitute  the  only  cause,  in  my  opinion,  which  can 
justify  secession.  All  other  complaints  are  fouuded  on 
threatened  dangers  which  may  never  come  and  which 
I feel  very  sure  could  be  averted  if  the  South  would 
pursue  a judicious  and  wise  course.  Whether  we  ought 
to  secede  in  consequence  of  the  faithlessness  of  those 
Northern  States  alluded  to  is  simply  a question  c\ 
policy.  It  is  one  on  which  able  men  and  true  mao 
differ.  One  thing  is  certain:  the  South  would  be  just.: 
fled  in  doing  it.  For  nothing  is  better  settled  by  all  law, 
recognized  by  savage  as  well  as  by  civilized  people,  than 
that  a compact  broken  by  one  party  to  it  is  not  binding 
on  the  other.  But  if  we  secede,  I should  like  to  see  it  put 
on  the  right  ground;  and  while  I think  the  ground 
would  fully  justify  the  act,  yet  I do  not  think  it  would 
at  present  be  wise  to  resort  to  that  remedy.  For  I feel 
confident  that,  if  we  should  adopt  the  right  course, 
those  states  would  recede  and  repeal  their  obnoxious 
statutes.  Hence  I am  mortified  and  grieved  when  I 
read  such  papers  as  the  South  Carolina  manifesto.  It 
is  not  on  the  right  line. 

“ But  I am  grieved  at  almost  everything  I see  and  hear 
every  day.  The  times  are  fearfully  distempered.  I am 
fully  persuaded  of  one  thing,  and  that  is,  there  is  no 
power  on  earth  that  can  bring  any  good  out  of  the 
present  state  of  things.  The  progress  of  events  cannot 
be  arrested.  . . . 

“ I must  confess  in  the  darkness  and  gloom  that  hang 
upon  the  future  I see  no  prospect  and  but  little  hope 
for  good  government  ever  again  in  this  country,  North 
or  South.  The  mischievous  faction  at  the  North  will 
bear  sway  there.  Constitutional  liberty  they  never 
understood,  or  did  not  like,  if  they  did.  How  it  will 
he  with  us  at  the  South  time  must  disclose  ; but 


win 
circi 
rule  i 
to  ruiu 
ently  v 
abandon 
will  not  i 
and  has  b 
is  beyond  i 

Mr.  Stepi 
with  the  Coi 
having  inforn. 
have  allowed  1 
hut  that  the  lat 
to  accept  his  eh 
the  convention  t* 
January.  Mr.  St 
posing  the  policj 
belief  and  the  rea> 

South,  as  well  as  t 
reconciliation,  and  ti 
remain  united  under 
ful  performance  by  ei 
tions.”  He  closed  in  t 

“ My  judgment,  as 
policy  of  immediate 
causes.  It  cannot  rece; 
but  if  the  judgment 
tion,  embodying  as  it 
be  against  mine;  if  a 
convention  shall,  by 
pact  of  union  whicl 
with  her  Confederate  ! 


UCll 

pies 
on  to 


,scd  the 
is  voting 
.ncluding 
, six,  who 
purpose  to 
of  the  State. 
,o  the  Provi 
h against  his 
ther  or  not  to 
ice  conditional 
wo  resolutions 
a of  the  Provis- 
nt  formation  of 
.tions  were  passed 
mg  as  follows. 

i he  likewise  author- 
re  delegates  from  the 
agree  upon  a plan  of 
States,  upon  the  prin- 
ion  of  the  United  States 
or  Constitution  of  per- 
be  binding  or  obligatory 
unle.  s submitted  to,  ap- 
ntion.” 

the  convention  on  the 
Ihe  constitution  for  a 
eputation  as  a parlia- 
t fell  to  his  duty  to 


ALEXANDER  E.  STEPHENS. 


47 


draw  up  the  rules  for  the  Southern  Congress.  After 
the  formation  of  the  Constitution,  Alexander  H. 
Stephens  was  unanimously  elected  Vice-President  of 
the-  Confederate  States  of  America.  In  returning 
thanks,  on  the  occasion  of  the  serenade,  on  the  even- 
ing of  his  election,  Mr.  Stephens  said: 

“ Sufficient  to  say  that'this  day  a new  republic  has 
been  born — the  Confederate  States  of  Ameri  ca  has  been 
ushered  into  existence  to  take  its  place  amongst  the 
nations  of  the  earth — under  a temporary  or  provisional 
government,  it  is  true,  but  soon  to  be  followed  by  one 
of  a permanent  character,  which,  while  it  surrenders 
none  of  our  ancient  rights  and  liberties,  will  secure 
more  perfectly,  we  trust,  the  peace,  security  and 
domestic  tranquility  that  should  be  the  objects  of  all 
governments. 

“ What  is  to  be  the  future  of  this  new  government — 
the  fate  of  this  new  republic — will  depend  upon  our- 
selves. Six  States  only,  at  present,  constitute  it— but 
six  stars,  as  yet,  appear  in  our  constellation — more,  we 
trust,  will  soon  be  added.  By  the  time  of  the  adoption 
of  the  constitution  of  the  permanent  government,  we 
may  have  a greater  number  than  the  original  thirteen— 
of  the  original  Union,  and  with  more  than  three  times 
their  population,  wealth  and  power.  With  such  a 
beginning,  the  prospect  of  the  future  presents  strong 
hopes  to  the  patriot’s  heart,  for  a bright  and  prosper- 
ous career.  But  what  that  future  shall  be,  depends,  I 
say,  upon  ourselves  and  those  who  shall  come  after  us. 
Ours  is  a republic.  And  all  republics,  to  be  permanent 
and  prosperous,  must  be  supported  by  the  virtue,  intel- 
ligence, integrity,  and  patriotism  of  the  people.  These 
are  the  corner-stones  upon  which  the  temple  of  popular 


48 


THE  LIFE  OF 


liberty  must  be  constructed,  to  stand  securely  and  per- 
manently. Resting  ours  upon  these,  we  need  fear 
nothing  from  without  or  from  within.  With  a climate 
unsurpassed  by  any  on  earth ; with  staples  and  produc- 
tions which  control  the  commerce  of  the  world;  with 
institutions,  so  far  as  regards  our  organic  and  social 
policy,  in  strict  conformity  to  nature  and  the  laws  of 
the  Creator,  whether  read  in  the  Book  of  Inspiration, 
or  in  the  great  book  of  manifestations  around  us,  we 
have  all  the  natural  elements  essential  to  the  attainment 
of  the  highest  degree  of  honor,  glory  and  renown. 

“ These  institutions  have  been  much  assailed.  It  is 
our  mission  to  vindicate  the  great  truths  on  which  they 
rest,  and  with  them  to  exhibit  the  highest  type  of  civil- 
ization which  it  is  possible  for  human  society  to  reach. 
In  doing  this,  our  policy  should  be  marked  by  a desire 
to  preserve  and  maintain  peace  with  all  other  states  and 
peoples.  If  this  cannot  be  done,  let  not  the  fault  lie  at 
our  door.  While  we  should  make  aggressions  on  none, 
we  should  be  prepared  to  repel  them  if  made  by  others, 
let  it  come  from  whatever  quarter  it  may.  We  ask  of 
all  others  simply  to  be  let  alone,  and  to  be  permitted  to 
work  after  our  own  safety,  security,  and  happiness,  in 
our  own  way,  without  molesting  or  giving  offence  to 
any  other  people. 

“ Let  then  peace,  fraternity,  and  liberal  commercial  re- 
lations with  all  the  world,  be  our  motto.  With  these 
principles,  without  any  envy  toward  other  states  in  the 
line  of  policy  they  may  mark  out  for  themselves,  we 
will  rather  invite  them  to  a generous  rivalship  in  all 
that  develops  the  highest  qualities  of  our  nature.” 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  “ CORNER-STONE  ” SPEECH  AT  SAVANNAH — MR. 
STEPHENS’  VIEWS  CONCERNING  SLAVERY — SPECIAL 
CONFEDERATE  COMMISSIONER  TO  VIRGINIA — AD- 
DRESS AT  RICHMOND  BEFORE  THE  CONVENTION. 

On  March  21,  1861,  Mr.  Stephens  delivered  at  Savan- 
nah, what  has  since  been  known  as  “The  Corner-stone 
Speech,”  this  title  being  based  upon  his  assertion  of 
his  opinion  of  the  policy  of  the  Southern  States  in 
regard  to  slavery,  which  he  recognized  as  the  “ corner- 
stone” of  the  new  government.  In  setting  forth  l';« 
views  as  to  this  question,  Mr.  Stephens  made  ’’ 
following  language : 

“ But  not  to  he  tedious  in  enumerating  tl 
changes  for  the  better,  allow  me  to  allude 
— though  last,  not  least.  The  new  constit 
at  rest,  forever,  all  the  agitating  question 
our  peculiar  institution — African  slavery 
amongst  us— the  proper  status  of  the  negrc 
of  civilization.  This  was  the  immediate 
late  rupture  and  present  revolution, 
forecast,  had  anticipated  this,  as  th 
the  old  Union  would  split.’  H(’ 
conjecture  with  him,  is  no 

49 


50 


TEE  LIFE  OF 


whether  he  fully  comprehended  the  great  truth 
upon  which  that  rock  stood  and  stands,  may  be 
doubted.  The  prevailing  ideas  entertained  by  him 
and  most  of  the  leading  statesmen  at  the  time  of 
the  formation  of  the  old  constitution,  were  that  the  en- 
slavement of  the  African  was  in  violation  of  the  laws  of 
nature;  that  it  was  wrong  i n principle,  socially,  morally, 
and  politically.  It  was  an  evil  they  knew  not  well  how 
to  deal  with,  but  the  general  opinion  of  the  men  of  that 
day  was  that,  somehow  or  other  in  the  order  of  Provi- 
dence, the  institution  would  be  evanescent  and  pass 
away.  This  idea,  though  not  incorporated  in  the  Consti- 
tution, was  the  prevailing  idea  at  that  time.  The  Consti- 
tution it  is  true,  secured  every  essential  guarantee  to  the 
institution  while  it  should  last,  and  hence  no  argument 
can  be  justly  urged  against  the  constitutional  guarantees 
thus  secured,  because  of  the  common  sentiment  of  the 
day.  These  ideas,  however,  were  fundamentally  wrong; 
they  rested  upon  the  assumption  of  the  equality  of  races. 
This  was  an  error.  It  was  a sandy  foundation,  and  the 
'men';  built  upon  it  fell  when  the  ‘ storm  came 
d blew. 

r government  is  founded  upon  exactly  the 
; its  foundations  are  laid,  its  corner-stone 
? great  truth  that  the  negro  is  not  equal  to 
an  ; that  slavery— subordination  to  the 
—is  his  natural  aud  normal  condition, 
new  government  is  the  first  in  the  history 
id  based  upon  this  great  physical, 
and  moral  truth.  This  truth  has 
• process  of  its  development,  like 
a the  various  departments  of 
even  so  amongst  us.  Many 
recollect  well  that  this  truth 


ALEXANDER  II.  STEPHENS. 


51 


was  not  generally  admitted,  even  within  their  day. 
The  errors  of  the  past  generation  still  clung  to  many  as 
late  as  twenty  years  ago.  Those  at  the  North  who 
still  cling  to  these  errors  with  a zeal  above  knowledge, 
we  justly  denominate  fanatics.  All  fanaticism  springs 
from  an  aberration  of  the  mind — from  a defect  in  rea- 
soning. It  is  a species  of  insanity.  One  of  the  most 
striking  characteristics  of  insanity,  in  many  instances, 
is  forming  correct  conclusions  from  fancied  or  erro- 
neous premises.  So  with  the  anti-slavery  fanatics. 
Their  conclusions  are  right  if  their  premises  were. 
They  assume  that  the  negro  is  equal,  and  hence  con- 
clude that  he  is  entitled  to  equal  privileges  and  rights 
with  the  white  man.  If  their  premises  were  correct, 
their  conclusions  would  be  logical  and  just — but  their 
premises  being  w^ong,  their  whole  argument  fails.  I 
recollect  once  of  having  heard  a gentleman  from  one 
of  the  Northern  States,  of  great  power  and  ability,  an- 
nounce in  the  House  of  Representatives,  with  imposing 
effect,  that  we  of  the  South  would  be  compelled  ulti- 
mately to  yield  upon  this  subject  of  slavery,  that  it  was 
as  impossible  to  war  successfully  against  a principle  in 
politics,  as  it  was  in  physics,  or  mechanics.  That  the 
principle  would  ultimately  prevail.  That  we,  in  main- 
taining slavery  as  it  exists  with  us,  were  warring 
against  a principle,  a principle  founded  in  nature, 
the  principle  of  the  equality  of  men.  The  reply  I made 
him  was,  that  upon  his  own  grounds,  we  should, 
ultimately  succeed,  and  that  he  and  his  associ- 
ates, in  this  crusade  against  our  institutions,  would 
ultimately  fail.  The  truth  announced,  that  it  was 
as  impossible  to  war  successfully  against  a prin- 
ciple in  politics  as  it  was  in  physics  and  mechanics,  I 
admitted;  but  told  him  that  it  was  be,  and  those  acting 


52 


THE  LIFE  OF 


with  him,  who  were  warring  against  a principle.  They 
were  attempting  to  make  things  equal  which  the 
Creator  had  made  unequal. 

‘ ‘ In  the  conflict  thus  far,  success  has  been  on  our  side, 
complete  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  Con- 
federate States.  It  is  upon  this,  as  I have  stated,  our 
social  fabric  is  firmly  planted;  and  I cannot  permit  my- 
self to  doubt  the  ultimate  success  of  a full  recognition 
of  this  principle  throughout  the  civilized  and  enlight- 
ened world. 

“ As  I have  stated,  the  truth  of  this  principle  may  be 
slow  in  development,  as  all  truths  are  and  ever  have 
been,  in  the  various  branches  of  science.  It  was  so 
with  the  principles  announced  by  Galileo — it  was  so 
with  Adam  Smith  and  his  principles  of  political  econ- 
omy. It  was  so  with  Harvey,  and  his  theory  of  the  cir- 
culation of  the  blood.  It  is  stated  that  not  a single  one 
of  the  medical  profession,  living  at  the  time  of  the  an- 
nouncement of  the  truths  made  by  him,  admitted  them. 
Now,  they  are  universally  acknowledged.  May  we 
not,  therefore,  look  with  confidence  to  the  ultimate 
universal  acknowledgment  of  the  truths  upon  which 
our  system  rests?  It  is  the  first  government  ever 
instituted  upon  the  principles  in  strict  con- 
formity to  nature,  and  the  ordination  of  Providence,  in 
furnishing  the  materials  of  human  society.  Many  gov- 
ernments have  been  founded  upon  the  principle  of  the 
subordination  and  serfdom  of  certain  classes  of  the 
same  race;  such  were  and  are  in  violation  of  the  laws  of 
nature.  Our  system  commits  no  such  violation  of 
nature’s  laws.  With  us,  all  of  the  white  race,  however 
high  or  low,  rich  or  poor,  are  equal  in  the  eye  of  the 
law.  Not  so  with  the  negro.  Subordination  is  his 
place.  He,  by  nature,  or  by  the  curse  against  Canaan, 


ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS. 


53 


is  fitted  for  that  condition  which  he  occupies  in  our 
system.  The  architect  in  the  construction  of  builings, 
lays  the  foundation  with  the  proper  material — the 
granite;  then  comes  the  brick  or  the  marble.  The  sub- 
stratum of  our  society  is  made  of  the  material  fitted  by 
nature  for  it,  and  by  experience  we  know,  that  it  is 
best,  not  only  for  the  superior,  but  for  the  inferior 
race,  that  it  should  be  so.  It  is,  indeed,  in  conformity 
with  the  ordinance  of  the  Creator.  It  is  not  for  us  to 
inquire  into  the  wisdom  of  his  ordinances,  or  to  ques- 
tion them.  For  his  own  purposes,  he  has  made  one 
race  to  differ  from  another,  as  he  has  made  ‘ one  star 
to  differ  from  another  star  in  glory.’ 

“The  great  objects  of  humanity  are  best  attained 
when  there  is  conformity  to  his  laws  and  decrees,  in 
the  formation  of  governments  as  well  as  in  all  things 
else.  Our  confederacy  is  founded  upon  principles  in 
strict  conformity  with  these  laws.  This  stone  which 
was  rejected  by  the  first  builders  ‘ is  become  the  chief 
of  the  corner’ — the  real  ‘ corner-stone  ’ — in  our  new 
edifice.” 

On  April  23,  1861,  Mr.  Stephens  appeared  before  the 
Virginia  Secession  Convention,  at  Richmond,  as  a 
special  commissioner  from  the  newly  formed  Confeder- 
ate States,  to  the  government  of  Virginia,  to  invite  that 
State  to  a representation  in  the  Confederate  councils. 
In  the  course  of  his  address,  Mr.  Stephens  spoke  as 
follows : 

“ Under  the  latitudinarian  construction  of  the  Con- 
stitution which  prevails  at  the  North,  the  general  idea 
is  maintained  that  the  will  of  the  majority  is  supreme; 
and  as  to  constitutional  checks  or  restraints,  they  have 
no  just  conception  of  them.  The  Constitution  was,  at 


64 


THE  LIFE  OF 


first,  mainly  the  work  of  Southern  men,  and  Virginia 
men  at  that.  The  government  under  it  lasted  only  so 
long  as  it  was  kept  in  its  proper  sphere  with  due  re- 
gard to  its  limitations,  checks  and  balances.  This, 
from  the  origin  of  the  government,  was  effected  main- 
ly by  Southern  statesmen.  It  was  only  when  all  further 
effort  seemed  to  be  hopeless  to  keep  the  federal  govern- 
ment within  its  proper  sphere  of  delegated  powers, 
that  the  Confederate  States,  each  for  itself,  resumed 
those  powers  and  looked  out  for  new  safeguards  for 
their  rights  and  domestic  tranquility.  These  are  found 
not  in  abandoning  the  Constitution,  but  in  adhering 
only  to  those  who  will  faithfully  sustain  it. 

“We  have  rescued  the  Constitution  from  utter  anni- 
hilation. This  is  our  conviction,  and  we  believe  history 
will  so  record  the  fact.  You  have  seen  what  we  have 
done.  Our  Constitution  has  been  published.  Perhaps 
most  of  you  have  read  it.  If  not  I have  a copy  here, 
which  is  at  the  service  of  any  who  may  wish  to  examine 
it.  It  is  the  old  Constitution,  with  all  its  essentials,  and 
some  changes,  of  which  I may  speak  presently. 

“It  is  upon  this  basis  we  are  looking  to  your  union 
with  us;  first,  by  the  adoption  of  the  provisional  Consti- 
tution, and  then  of  the  permanent  one,  in  such  a way 
as  you  may  consider  best,  under  the  limitations  of  your 
powers.  This  I may  be  pardoned  for  pressing  upon 
the  convention,  and  expressing  the  hope  that  they  may 
do  it,  utterly  ignoring  all  past  differences  of  opinion. 

“ In  all  bodies  of  men,  differences  of  opinion  may  be 
expected;  hut  the  disagreements  and  differences  with 
you,  as  was  the  case  with  us,  will  perhaps  be  found  to 
relate  more  as  to  the  mode  of  action,  than  to  the  pro- 
priety and  necessity  of  action  of  some  sort.  As  to  differ- 


ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS. 


55 


ences  in  the  past,  on  the  subject  of  union  and  secession, 
let  them  be  buried  and  forgotten  forever. 

“ My  position  and  views  upon  these  questions  in  the 
past  may  be  known  to  you.  If  not,  it  may  be  proper 
to  state,  and  I feel  no  reluctance  in  declaring,  in  your 
presence  here  in  the  capitol  of  the  old  commonwealth 
of  Virginia,  that  there  never  breathed  a human  spirit 
on  the  soil  of  America  more  strongly  and  devoutedly 
attached  to  the  Union  of  our  fathers  than  I.  I was,  how- 
ever, in  favor  of  no  Union  that  did  not  secure  perfect 
equality  and  protection  of  all  rights  guaranteed  under 
the  Constitution.  I was  not  insensible  of  the  fact  that 
several  of  the  Northern  States  had  openly  repudiated 
their  constitutional  obligations,  and  that  if  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  present  dominant  party  should  be  carrried 
out,  ultimate  separation  was  inevitable.  But  still,  I 
did  trust  that  there  was  wisdom  and  patriotism  enough 
at  the  North,  when  aroused,  to  correct  the  evils,  to 
right  the  wrongs  and  to  do  us  justice.  I trusted  even 
to  the  last,  for  some  hopeful  reaction  in  the  popular 
sentiment  at  the  North. 

“ I was  attached  to  the  Union,  however,  not  on  ac. 
count  of  the  Union  per  se,  but  I was  attached  to  it  for 
what  was  its  soul,  its  vitality  and  spirit;  those  were 
the  living  embodiments  of  the  great  principles  of  self- 
government,  springing  from  the  great  truth,  that  the 
just  powers  of  all  governments  are  derived  from  the 
consent  of  the  governed,  as  it  was  transmitted  to  us  by 
our  fathers.  This  is  the  foundation  on  which  alone  all 
constitutional  liberty  is  and  must  be  based — and  to 
these  principles  I am  to-day  attached  just  as  ardently  as 
I ever  was  before,  and  I no  w announce  to  you  my  solemn 
conviction  that  the  only  hope  you  have  for  the  preser- 
vation of  these  principles,  is  by  your  alliance  with 


56 


TEE  LIFE  OF 


those  who  have  rescued,  restored  and  re-established 
them  in  the  Constitution  of  the  Confederate  States — 
there  is  no  hope  in  the  States  North. 

“ The  disagreements  that  existed  in  our  State 
as  to  the  course  that  we  should  pursue,  before 
the  last  resort  of  secession  was  adopted,  were 
more  as  to  the  mode  and  manner  of  redress, 
than  as  to  the  cause  of  the  grievance  or  the  griev- 
ance requiring  redress.  I take  this  occasion,  in 
passing,  to  state  to  you,  that  in  our  convention  there 
was  considerable  difference  of  opinion  on  this  view  of 
the  subject.  It  may  not  be  known  to  you  that  on  that 
occasion,  I disagreed  with  the  majority  on  the  course 
adopted.  My  vote  was  recorded  against  the  secession 
ordinance  in  our  State.  I was  for  making  one  more 
effort,  and  for  getting  the  whole  South  united  if  possi- 
ble in  that  effort  for  redress. 

‘•But  when  the  State  in  her  sovereign  capacity  deter- 
mined otherwise,  my  judgment  was  yielded  to  hers. 
My  allegiance  was  due  to  her.  My  fortunes  were 
linked  with  hers;  her  cause  was  my  cause;  and 
her  destiny  was  my  destiny.  A large  minority  in 
that  convention  voted  as  I did.  But  after  secession 
was  determined  on  by  the  majority,  a resolution 
was  drawn  up  to  the  effect,  that  whereas  the  lack  of 
unanimity  on  the  passage  of  the  ordinance,  was  owing 
more  to  a disagreement  as  to  the  proper  mode  at  the 
time  for  a redress  of  existing  wrongs  and  threatened 
wrongs,  than  as  to  the  fact  of  the  existence  of  such 
wrongs  as  required  redress,  therefore,  after  the  mode 
and  manner  was  adopted  by  a majority  of  the  conven- 
tion, that  all  of  us,  as  an  evidence  of  our  determina- 
tion to  maintain  the  State  in  her  chosen  remedy,  should 
sign  the  ordinance;  and  with  that  determination  under 


ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS 


57 


that  resolution,  every  member  of  the  convention 
except  six,  signed  it.  Those  six  also  declared  upon 
record  a like  determination  on  their  part.  So  our 
Slate  became  a unit  upon  the  measure,  when  it  was 
resolved  upon.  All  anterior  differences  amongst 
us  were  dropped.  The  cause  of  Georgia  was  the  cause 
of  us  all;  and  so  I trust  it  will  be  in  Virginia.  Let  all 
past  differences  be  forgotten.  Whether,  if  some  other 
course  had  been  adopted,  our  rights  could  have  ulti- 
mately been  secured  in  the  old  Union,  is  a problem  now 
that  can  never  be  solved.  I am  free  to  confess,  as  I 
frankly  do,  that  the  late  indications  afford  strong  evi- 
dence that  the  majority  at  the  North  wTere  bent  upon 
our  destruction  at  every  cost  and  every  hazard.  At  all 
events,  we  know  that  our  only  hope  now  is  in  our  own 
strong  arms  and  stout  hearts,  with  unity  among  our- 
selves. Our  course  is  adopted.  We  can  take  no  steps 
backward.  The  time  for  compromise,  if  it  ever  existed, 
is  past.  . . . 

“One  good  and  wise  feature  in  our  new  or  revised 
constitution  is,  that  we  have  put  to  rest  the  vexed 
question  of  slavery  forever,  so  far  as  the  confederate 
legislative  halls  are  concerned.  On  this  subject,  from 
which  sprung  the  immediate  cause  of  our  late  troubles 
and  threatened  dangers,  you  will  indulge  me  in  a few 
remarks  as  not  irrelevant  to  the  occasion.  The  con- 
dition of  the  negro  race  amongst  us  presents  a peculiar 
phase  of  republican  civilization  and  constitutional 
liberty.  To  some,  the  problem  seems  hard  to  under- 
stand. The  difficulty  is  in  theory,  not  in  practical 
demonstration;  that  works  well  enough — theories  in 
government,  as  in  all  things  else,  must  yield  to  facts. 
No  truth  is  clearer  than  that  the  best  form  or  system 
of  government  for  any  people  or  society  is  that  which  ' 


58 


THE  LIFE  OF 


secures  the  greatest  amount  of  happiness,  not  to  the 
greatest  number,  but  to  all  the  constituent  elements 
of  that  society,  community  or  State.  If  our  system 
does  not  accomplish  this;  if  it  is  not  best  for  the  negro 
as  well  as  for  the  white  man;  for  the  inferior  as  well  as 
the  superior  race,  it  is  wrong  in  principle.  But  if  it 
does,  or  is  capable  of  doing  this,  then  it  is  right,  and 
can  never  be  successfully  assailed  by  reason  or  logic. 
That  the  negroes  with  us,  under  masters  who  care  for, 
provide  for  and  protect  them,  are  better  off,  and  enjoy 
more  of  the  blessings  of  good  government  than  their 
race  does  in  any  other  part  of  the  world,  statistics 
abundantly  prove.  As  a race,  the  African  is  inferior 
to  the  white  man.  Subordination  to  the  white  man  is 
his  normal  condition.  He  is  not  his  equal  by  nature, 
and  cannot  be  made  so  by  human  laws  or  human  insti- 
tutions. Our  system,  therefore,  so  far  as  regards  this 
inferior  race,  rests  upon  this  great  immutable  law  of 
nature.  It  is  founded  not  upon  wrong  or  injustice,  but 
upon  the  eternal  fitness  of  things.  Hence  its  harmoni- 
ous working  for  the  benefit  and  advantage  of  both. 
Why  one  race  was  made  inferior  to  another  is  not  for 
us  to  inquire.  The  statesman  and  the  Christian,  as 
wTell  as  the  philosopher,  must  take  things  as  they  find 
them,  and  do  the  best  he  can  with  them  as  he  finds 
them. 

1 ‘ The  great  truth,  I repeat,  upon  which  our  system 
rests,  is  the  inferiority  of  the  African.  The  enemies  of 

our  institutions  ignore  this  truth 

We  have  heard  much  of  the  higher  law.  I believe  my- 
self in  the  higher  law.  We  stand  upon  that  higher 
law.  I would  defend  and  support  no  constitution  that 
is  against  the  higher  law.  I mean  by  that  the  law  of 
nature  and  of  God,  Human  constitutions  and  human 


ALEXANDER  II.  STEPHENS. 


59 


laws  that  are  made  against  the  law  of  Nature  or  of  God, 
ought  to  be  overturned ; and  if  Seward  was  right,  the 
Constitution  which  he  was  sworn  to  support,  and  is 
now  requiring  others  to  swear  to  support,  ought  to 
have  been  overthrown  long  ago.  It  ought  never  to 
have  been  made.  But  in  point  of  fact  it  is  he  and  his 
associates  in  this  crusade  against  us,  who  are  warring 
against  the  higher  law — we  stand  upon  the  laws  of  the 
Creator,  upon  the  highest  of  all  laws.  It  is  the  fanatics 
of  the  North,  who  are  warring  against  the  decrees  of 
God  Almighty,  in  their  attempts  to  make  things  equal 
which  he  has  made  unequal.  My  assurance  of  ultimate 
success  in  this  controversy  is  strong  from  the  convic- 
tion that  we  stand  upon  the  right.  . . . No  human 

efforts  or  human  laws  can  change  the  leopard's  spots  or 
the  Ethiopian’s  skin.  These  are  the  works  of  Provi- 
dence— in  whose  hands  are  the  fortunes  of  men  as  well 
as  the  destiny  of  nations  and  the  distinctions  of  races.  ” 


CHAPTER  VII. 


NORTHERN  IMPRESSIONS  OP  MR.  STEPHENS — CHAGRIN 
AT  HIS  ACCEPTANCE  OP  SECESSION — THE  REAL 
“CONSISTENCY”  OF  HIS  ACTION — HIS  ADVICE  AND 
COUNSEL  TO  THE  SOUTH — HIS  OPINION  OF  THE  IM- 
PORTANCE OP  COTTON  AS  A “COMMERCIAL  KING  ” — 
HIS  DIFFERENCE  WITH  THE  CONFEDERATE  GOVERN- 
MENT. 

These  quotations  from  Mr.  Stephens’  utterances  in 
the  few  months  which  elapsed  between  his  address 
before  the  Legislature  at  Milledgeville,  after  the  elec- 
tion of  Lincoln,  and  his  speech  at  Savannah,  have 
been  given  at  length,  on  account  of  the  light  which 
they  throw  upon  the  nature  of  the  man,  indomitable 
and  unswerving  from  the  convictions  which  had 
once  taken  possession  of  his  mind — yet  subordinating 
his  actions  and  even  his  opinions  to  constituted  author- 
ity, when  this  had  once  legitimately  declared  itself. 

The  people  of  the  North  had  learned  with  mingled 
surprise  and  delight  of  the  position  taken  by  Mr. 
Stephens  in  his  speech  of  the  14th  of  November.  So 
important  was  it  deemed  that  Mr.  Lincoln  himself 
wrote  an  authograph  note  to  Mr.  Stephens,  dated 
Springfield,  November  30,  1860,  asking  him  for  a re- 
vised copy  of  the  speech.  It  was  indeed  assumed — 


60 


ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS. 


61 


so  thoroughly  recognized  was  Mr.  Stephens’  powerful 
influence — that  in  the  face  of  his  opposition,  no  ordi- 
nance of  secession  would  he  passed  by  the  State  of 
Georgia. 

That  this  was  a grave  error,  and  a thorough  misun- 
standing  of  the  determination  of  all  the  Southern  peo- 
ple, was  soon  shown  by  the  passage  of  the  Act  in  ques- 
tion. Mr.  Stephens,  however,  continued  to  be  re- 
garded as  so  much  a friend  of  the  Union,  that  his 
personal  adherence  to  secession  was  deemed  not  only 
inconsistent  with  his  speech  before  the  Legislature,  but 
incompatible  with  his  known  Union  sentiments  The 
astonishment  and  chagrin  of  the  North  was  thereto 
universal,  when  he  accepted  the  Yice-Presidency  of  th 
Confederacy,  and  to  these  sentiments  were  added  a 
feeling  of  positive  anger  and  almost  contempt  when  he 
completed  his  seeming  recantation  by  the  terrible  “cor 
ner-stone”  speech  at  Savannah.  From  this  period  until 
the  close  of  the  war,  the  great  “Georgia  Commoner  ” was 
looked  upon  by  his  Northern  critics  as  one  who  had  de- 
scended from  the  lofty  pinnacle  to  which  he  alone,  of  all 
the  Southern  statesmen,  had  reached,  and  who,  either 
from  personal  interest,  or  because  of  moral  cowardice, 
had  surrendered  his  convictions,  and  with  them  his 
claim  to  an  imperishable  and  honored  memory. 

But  the  reader  will  have,  we  hope,  long  before  this, 
perceived  the  entire  consistency  of  Mr.  Stephens’  later 
position  with  his  former,  and  with  the  principles  of  his 
entire  political  life. 

No  influence  is  more  domineering  or  tyrannical  than 
the  element  which  we  term  consistency.  Fettered  by 
this,  the  human  mind  is  not  permitted  either  to  learn 
by  the  experience  of  the  past  or  to  form  conclusions  by 
forecasting  the  future;  and  those;  who  most  cry  out  and 


62 


THE  LIFE  OF 


insist  upon  consistency  in  others,  mean,  by  the  term, 
agreement  with  their  own  opinions,  rather  than  with 
that  which  is  just  or  right.  In  every  instance  in  Mr. 
Stephens’  political  life  where  a question  was  finally  de- 
cided by  legislative  or  other  authority,  it  had  been  the 
habit  of  his  mind  and  his  act  to  submit,  not  only  grace- 
fully hut  logically.  With  him,  once  a subject  was  con- 
cluded, there  should  he  no  more  discussion  or  resistance 
In  the  matter  in  hand:  1.  He  had  been  a logical  and 
consistent  supporter  of  the  Union  all  his  life;  he  still 
held  to  his  opinions  in  that  regard.  2.  He  had  believed 

rim  institution  of  slavery  as  divinely  ordained,  from 

e time  when  he  could  first  distinguish  the  difference 
ictween  slavery  and  freedom.  3.  He  believed  in  the 
right  of  a state  to  secede,  under  certain  circum- 
stances, which  he  frequently  enumerated.  In  the  case 
of  the  present  secession  movement,  he  opposed  it  on  the 
ground,  first,  that  no  occasion  for  it  had  justly  arisen 
within  the  Union,  and  which  could  not  and  probably 
would  not  he  rectified  within  the  Union:  and,  second, 
because  he  believed  the  movement  to  be  impolitic,  un- 
likely to  succeed,  and  certain  to  result  in  disaster  to  the 
South  if  it  failed  to  succeed. 

Consistently  with  these  views,  he  opposed  secession 
until  it  had  become  a fixed  fact.  Consistently  with  the 
same  view's,  he  announced  slavery  to  be  the  corner- 
stone of  the  new  government,  of  which  he  became  the 
second  executive  officer. 

Mr.  Stephens’  theory  of  citizenship  in  the  republic 
was  a peculiar  one,  and  on  this  he  based  his  action  in 
going  out  wuth  his  state.  He  simply  did  not  believe 
that  any  man  could  be  a citizen  of  the  United  States, 
or  that  the  United  States,  as  such,  could  create  or  ac- 
cept citizens.  He  recognized  only  citizenship  as  belong- 


LEX  AND  ER  H.  STEPHENS. 


63 


mg  to  states  in  their  individual  capacity;  these  states 
being  confederated,  to  be  sure,  but  without,  by  this  fact, 
having  the  political  status  of  any  individual  member 
of  the  population  altered  or  created. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that,  holding  the  opinions  which 
he  did,  Mr.  Stephens  could  not  honestly  have  taken  any 
different  action  from  that  which  resulted  from  his  con- 
victions, and  which  was  certainly  both  logically  sound 
and  sincere. 

During  the  Summer  of  1861,  Mr.  Stephens  was  very 
active  in  his  interest  in  affairs,  and  though  for  a time 
prostrated  with  sickness  at  his  home  in  Crawfordsville, 
was  even  there  visited  by  public  men,  with  whom  he 
advised  freely  and  at  length  concerning  the  important 
measures  which  were  now  a topic  of  general  concern. 

Naturally,  the  first  great  need  of  the  South,  as  it  was 
in  the  North,  was  money.  As  Mr.  Stephens  put  it  in  one 
of  his  letters  to  his  brother  Linton,  about  this  time, 
“ Independence  and  liberty  will  require  money  as  well 
as  blood.  The  people  must  meet  both  with  promptness 
and  firmness.”  As  to  this,  he  believed  in  a special  tax, 
but  also  in  the  value  of  cotton  for  this  purpose.  “ ‘ Cot- 
ton was  King ’men  said;  hut  they  should  remember 
that  it  was  not  a political  but  a commercial  king.” 

The  matter  of  raising  a navy  was  at  this  time  one 
which  had  awakened  general  interest,  and  this  subject 
came  before  Mr.  Stephens,  and  regarding  it  he  made 
the  following  suggestion : 

“ If  the  government  would  now  buy  one  million  of 
bales,  for  which  they  might  afford  to  give  ten  cents  a 
pound,  which  is  two  cents  more  than  the  market  price, 
with  these  they  could  raise  a navy  that  could  compete 
successfully  with  the  North.  It  is  vain  to  expect  relief 
from  the  blockade  from  foreign  powers.  We  alone 


64 


THE  LIFE  OF 


could  relieve  ourselves  of  that;  and  our  cotton,  unless 
it  was  put  to  the  use  suggested,  would  be  of  little  im- 
portance to  us.” 

But  in  his  opinion  on  this  subject,  and  as  very  soon 
appeared  on  many  others,  Mr.  Stephens  differed  widely 
from  the  prevailing  theories  of  the  other  members  of 
the  Confederate  government.  The  tone  of  public 
opinion  in  the  South  was  represented  by  such  men  as 
Jefferson  Davis  and  Robert  Toombs;  men  whose  im- 
pressions and  hopes  were  based  rather  on  their  wishes 
and  an  enthusiastic  confidence  in  the  resources  of  the 
South, — which  of  course  did  them  no  discredit — than 
on  sound  judgment  and  a statesmanlike  recognition  of 
facts  and  conditions  as  they  actually  existed.  But  the 
whole  South  was  now  swept  by  a mad  passion  of  ex- 
cited self-confidence,  in  the  face  of  which  the  calm 
and  dispassionate  reasoning  to  logical  conclusions  from 
wise  premises  which  characterized  Mr.  Stephens,  ap- 
peared nothing  short  of  treason  to  the  dominant  South- 
ern idea. 

For,  although  Mr  Stephens  had  accepted  the  situation 
and  gone  with  his  State,  he  could  not  be  considered  in 
accord  with  the  leaders  of  opinion  in  the  Confederacy, 
and  as  a matter  of  fact  he  opposed  the  policy  of  con- 
scription, the  suspension  of  the  privilege  of  habeas 
corpus,  the  appointment  of  military  governors  in  cities, 
and  generally  the  subordination  of  the  civil  to  military 
power.  On  these  questions  and  others,  he  naturally 
clashed  with  the  government.  Moreover,  he  had  but 
little  confidence  in  the  capacity  of  the  men  who  repre- 
sented the  South  in  the  Confederate  Congress.  To 
give  his  own  language,  “ This  is  a very  poor  Congress. 
There  are  few  men  of  ability  in  the  House,  in  the 
Senate  not  more  than  two  or  three.  Tom  Semmes  is 


ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS. 


65 


the  ablest;  the  next  are  Barnwell,  Hunter  and  Clay.” 
He  objected  to  the  introduction  of  the  West  Point 
policy  into  the  South,  and  as  to  this,  he  spoke  as 
follows : 

“If  the  West  Point  policy  should  prevail  fully  we 
shall  he  beaten.  If  the  Southern  volunteer  should 
come  to  forget  that  he  is  a gentleman  (and  that  is  what 
the  West  Point  men  say  he  must  do),  then  it  will  he 
merely  a struggle  between  matter  and  matter,  and  the 
biggest  and  heaviest  body  will  break  the  other.  We 
have  less  matter , and  to  have  equal  momentum  we  must 
have  greater  velocity  than  our  enemies, — so  to  call  our 
spirit  and  the  consciousness  of  being  gentlemen.” 

On  one  occasion,  in  reply  to  a remark  that  the 
government  had  been  acting  with  more  energy  lately, 
Hr.  Stephens  said:  “ The  energy  I discover  now  seems 
to  me  like  that  of  a turtle  after  fire  has  been  put  upon 
his  back.” 

Asked  when  he  expected  to  go  back  to  Richmond, 
he  replied:  “ Not  very  soon;  I can  do  no  good  there. 
The  policy  of  the  government  is  far  against  my  judg- 
ment, and  I am  frequently  embarrassed  on  account  of 
this  difference.” 

The  wisdom  which  Hr.  Stephens  displayed  in  re- 
gard to  the  affairs  of  his  own  section,  and  which  has 
since  been  generally  acknowledged,  was  strangely  at 
fault  when  applied  to  consideration  of  the  state  of  the 
North  and  its  promise  for  the  future.  Doubtless,  like 
many  wise  judges  on  both  sides,  he  was  misled  by 
wrong  informatiou.  A glimpse  of  his  error  in  this  re- 
gard may  be  had  from  the  following  paragraph  of  a 
letter  written  to  his  brother  Linton,  in  the  Summer  of 
1862: — “It  requires  no  statesmanship  to  see  that  the 
3 


66 


THE  LIFE  OF 


North  is  already  a despotism  complete  and  fearful. 
The  powers  of  it  are  daily  becoming  more  widely  dis- 
played and  more  intensely  felt.  Its  march  is  onward. 
Blood  will  soon  flow  there  as  it  did  in  France  under 
the  Directory.  There  will  never,  I apprehend,  he  any- 
thing like  constitutional  liberty  in  that  country  again.  ” 

In  one  of  his  many  conversations,  Mr.  Stephens  gave 
utterance  to  sentiments  concerning  the  working  of  self- 
government  by  the  people,  and  specially  having  relation 
to  the  success  or  failure  of  the  system  of  the  United 
States,  utterances  which  were  substantially  sound  and 
which  the  conclusions  of  many  reasoning  men  all  over 
the  country  will  to-day  sustain. 

“ There  was  no  fault  in  the  Government  of  the 
United  States.  The  difficulty  was  mainly  with  those 
in  power  and  in  the  administration  of  it.  The  ma- 
chinery was  good  and  sound;  it  was  from  the  bad  work- 
ing of  it  that  the  miseries  came.” 

“But,”  it  was  insisted,  “it  was  a failure.  And  if 
from  that  cause  the  failure  is  more  certain  and  more 
melancholy,  might  we  not  as  well  give  up  the  ques- 
tion?” 

“ By  no  means.  I shall  never  be  willing  to  give  up 
constitutional  liberty,  or  the  doctrine  that  the  people 
can  easily  and  safely  govern  themselves  upon  the 
principles  upon  which  our  institutions  rest.  In 
our  system,  these  principles  rest  upon  the  rights 
and  sovereignty  of  the  States.  For  their  support  are 
requisite  virtue,  intelligence,  patriotism,  and  con- 
stancy on  the  part  of  the  great  body  of  the  people. 
When  I see  the  apparent  indifference  of  so  many  among 
us  on  the  questions  involving  these  essential  principles 
of  our  liberties,  and  the  success  of  our  system,  I must 


ALEXANDER  11.  STEPHENS. 


67 


confess  I have  fears  for  the  future.  Still,  I am  far 
from  giving  it  up.  I think  the  system  at  the  North  is 
a failure.  But  our  people  are  different.  We  have 
more  virtue,  and  by  far  more  political  intelligence  in  the 
masses' of  our  people  than  they  have.  The  great  body 
of  our  people  here  are  honest,  industrious,  frugal,  pure, 
and  not  disposed  to  look  to  Government  for  anything 
hut  wise  and  equal  laws.  In  other  words,  they  look  to 
Government  for  nothing  but  justice.  At  the  North  the 
great  mass  look  to  Government  as  a means  for  a living 
by  their  wits  in  some  way.  Government  with  them  is 
a license  to  rob  and  plunder  in  some  way  or  other;  and 
to  get  control  of  Government  for  these  purposes  is  the 
highest  object  of  their  ambition.  The  people  there,  as 
well  as  their  rulers,  have  been  corrupted  for  years, — at 
least  a large  portion  of  them,  if  not  the  majority.  The 
same  thing  is  true  of  a portion  of  our  people,  and  we 
have  some  corrupt  leaders.  But  the  great  majority  are 
not  so.  They  understand  their  rights,  and  all  they 
want  of  rulers  is  to  give  them  good  government.  So 
long  as  this  shall  predominate  I shall  never  despair  of 
the  principles  of  self-government  with  our  people.” 


CHAPTER  III. 

ME.  STEPHENS’  ILL  HEALTH — “LIBERTY  HALL” — DE- 
SCRIPTION OF  HIS  RESIDENCE  AT  CRAWFORDSVILLE 
— HOME  LIFE  AND  HOSPITALITIES — PERSONAL  AP- 
PEARANCE, AS  DESCRIBED  BY  REV.  W.  H.  MILBURN. 

From  all  that  has  been  written,  it  will  have  been  seen 
that  Mr.  Stephens  was,  to  use  his  own  mode  of  expres- 
sion, oft  repeated,  “of  hut  little  use  to  the  Confederate 
Government.”  During  the  years  of  the  war  also,  he 
was  not  exempt  from  the  tortures  and  miseries  of  ill- 
health,  which  had  so  persisently  remained  with  him 
through  life.  An  extraordinary  patience  and  serene  sub- 
mission to  pain,  which  had  always  characterized  him, 
enabled  him  however,  to  distract  his  mind  from  himself, 
in  great  measure,  and  to  devote  his  thoughts  and  much 
of  his  time  to  the  all-engrossing  events  of  the  period. 
As  we  have  said,  his  home  at  Crawfordsville  was  fre- 
quently sought  by  public  men  with  whom  he  conversed 
freely.  He  also  wrote  voluminously  to  his  friends  and 
specially  to  his  brother  Linton,  giving  frank  expression 
of  his  opinions  on  public  questions  as  they  arose.  Din- 
ing the  Winter  of  1863-64,  his  sufferings  were  extreme. 
New  developments  of  disease,  accompanied  by  excru- 
ciating suffering,  strained  his  extraordinary  constitution 
to  the  utmost.  Notwithstanding  this,  a remarkable 


LIBERTY  HALL,  MR.  STEPHEN’S  RESIDENCE. 


a" 


ALEXANDER  II.  STEPHENS. 


69 


feature  of  this  period  of  his  life,  and  indeed  which  had 
characterized  it  for  the  preceding  twenty  years,  was 
the  unflagging  hospitality  which  was  dispensed  at 
“ Liberty  Hall,”  the  well-known  name  of  Mr.  Stephens’ 
residence  at  Crawfordsville. 

This  residence  was  purchased  by  Mr.  Stephens  in 
1845,  and  then  received  from  him  the  title  which  it 
ever  afterwards  retained.  The  town  of  Craw- 
fordsville, sixty-four  miles  from  the  city  of  Augusta, 
stands  on  a slope  of  the  Alleghenies,  between  the  Chat- 
tahoochee and  Savannah  Rivers,  and  at  an  elevation  of 
about  six  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  For 
many  years  it  has  been  a rather  forgotten  place,  the 
Georgia  Railroad  running  through  it  serving  rather  to 
mark  its  decline  than  to  awaken  it  to  new  animation  or 
prosperity.  It  may  be  doubted,  however,  if  there  be  any 
spot  in  the  State  of  Georgia  more  dear  to  its  people. 
On  an  elevation  just  outside  of  the  town,  near  an  old 
church  and  graveyard,  stands  the  unpretending  struct- 
ure, seen  at  intervals  as  one  approaches,  through  a 
magnificent  grove  of  oaks,  in  the  midst  of  which  it 
stands.  It  contains  eight  rooms;  four  of  these  on  the 
upper  floor  being  always,  during  the  lifetime  of  the 
owner,  prepared  for  the  reception  of  the  guests  who 
almost  constantly  occupied  them.  In  the  rear  of  the 
building  were  the  library  and  bedroom  of  Mr.  Stephens, 
and,  strangely  and  pathetically  enough,  the  only  orna- 
ment, so  to  speak,  in  the  library  of  Alexander  H.  Ste- 
phens, was  the  bust  of  Daniel  Webster.  Concerning  the 
nature  of  Mr,  Stephens’  home  life,  one  of  his  biograph- 
ers writes  as  follows : 

“ There  was  probably  no  home  in  Georgia  where  the 
old-fashioned  virtue  of  hospitality  was — and  still  is— 


70 


THE  LIFE  OF 


practiced  on  a more  liberal  scale  than  at  Liberty  Hall. 
For  many  years  it  has  been  Mr.  Stephens’  practice, 
during  court  week,  to  entertain  all  the  lawyers  in  attend- 
ance from  other  counties.  As  he  lived  on  the  line  of 
the  railroad,  every  one  who  passed  between  Augusta 
and  Atlanta,  whether  previously  acquainted  with  him 
or  not,  felt  entirely  free  to  favor  Mr.  Stephens  with  a 
brief  call — a visit  of  a day  or  two,  or  a stay  of  several 
weeks,  as  they  might  feel  inclined.  Some  came  out 
of  respect,  some  from  curiosity,  some  to  ask  pecuniary 
assistance,  and  many  from  the  feeling  that  his  house 
was  open  to  everybody.  As  for  the  people  of  Talia- 
ferro County,  there  was  not  a man,  woman,  or 
child  there  who  did  not  feel  as  much  at  home  in  Mr. 
Stephens’  house  as  in  their  own,  which  they  were 
free  to  enter  at  any  time  and  stay  as  long  as  they 
pleased.  So  it  can  be  easily  surmised  that,  although 
his  personal  manner  of  living  has  always  been  of  the 
simplest  kind,  his  domestic  expenses  have  been  exceed- 
ingly heavy 

“ Rarely  does  a chance  visitor  call  at  Liberty  Hall  at 
dinner-time,  that  he  does  not  find  other  guests,  some  of 
whom  were  as  little  expected  as  himself.  Mr.  Johnston 
has  often  seen  a plain  countryman  walk  into  Mr. 
Stephens’  office,  where  the  latter  was  writing,  and  after 
an  exchange  of  greetings  not  a word  has  been  spoken 
until  dinner  was  announced.  Immediately  after  dinner 
the  guest  has  departed  with  as  little  ceremony  as  graced 
his  entry ; very  frequently  first  asking  and  receiving  an 
order  on  the  village  store  for  groceries,  or  a pair  of 
shoes,  or  a frock  for  his  wife.  It  may  be  thought  that 
this  practice  does  not  tend  to  improve  the  independ- 
ence and  self-respect  of  the  stalwart  yeomen  of  Talia- 
ferro; but  they  seem  to  feel  that  they  stand  in  a dif- 


ALEXANDER  B.  STEPHENS. 


71 


ferent  and  closer  relation  to  Mr.  Stephens  than  to  the 
rest  of  their  more  affluent  neighbors. 

“ Mr.  Stephens,  however,  never  allows  himself  to  he 
incommoded  by  these  visitations.  If  he  is  occupied, 
he  welcomes  his  guests  and  then  continues  what  he  has 
in  hand,  leaving  them  to  entertain  themselves.  His 
dinner-hour  is  never  postponed;  and  whether  his  guests 
he  few  or  many,  they  must  content  themselves  with 
what  is  already  prepared  or  can  he  got  ready  without 
delay.” 

And  in  connection  with  the  residence  of  Mr.  Ste- 
phens, the  following  description  of  his  appearance  at 
home  will  not  he  out  of  place.  It  was  written  by  a 
special  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Herald , com- 
missioned to  visit  the  statesman,  shortly  before  the 
Presidential  election  of  1860. 

“ The  first  object  that  met  our  view  was  that  of  a 
person,  apparently  a slightly  formed  youth,  walking 
thoughtfully  through  a wide  passage-way  that  extended 
from  one  side  of  the  dwelling  to  the  other,  and  open  to 
the  air  and  sunshine  at  either  end.  On  approaching 
this  slight,  apparently  fragile  personage,  we  discov- 
ered at  once,  from  his  deeply  marked  and  careworn 
features,  his  broad  forehead,  his  intelligent  and  elo- 
quent black  eye,  it  was  no  youth  who  stood  before  us, 
but  Mr.  Stephens  himself.  He  now  weighs  ninety-two 
pounds,  and  weighed  but  eighty-four  when  he  com- 
menced law  practice  in  Crawfordsville 

“Besides  his  home  residence  in  Crawfordsville, 
which  covers  about  thirty  acres  of  land,  including  a 
fine  peach  and  apple  orchard,  a garden  in  which  the 
pomegranates  are  now  bursting  with  their  luscious 
sweets,  fig-trees  overshadow  the  ground,  and  roses  of 


72 


TEE  LIFE  OF 


the  finest  varieties  are  in  full  bloom,  Mr.  Stephens  has 
a plantation  about  two  miles  distant,  embracing  a 
thousand  acres  of  land.  A portion  of  this  plantation 
belonged  to  his  parents.  His  grand-father  died 
and  was  buried  on  the  spot;  his  father  and  mother 
lived  and  died  there,  and  the  property  falling  into 
other  hands,  it  was  not  until  the  expiration  of  many 
years  that  Mr.  Stephens  was  enabled  to  achieve 
the  proudest  object  of  his  life’s  ambition,  the 
redemption  of  his  patrimonial  estate.  He  has  since 
added  considerably  to  its  proportions,  and  by  improv- 
ing its  culture  rendered  it  one  of  the  finest  plantations 
in  the  county. 

********* 

“During  the  ride  through  his  plantation,  Mr.  Stephens 
pointed  out  his  vineyard,  comprising  four  acres  of  land. 
The  vines  are  of  the  Catawba  vareity,  in  healthful  con- 
dition, and  produce,  Mr.  Stephens  calculates,  several 
hundred  gallons  of  wine.  He  has  also  near  his  resi- 
dence about  an  acre  of  land  in  which  he  has  planted 
what  he  intends  shall  be  a model  vineyard,  and  from 
its  fine  situation,  the  thriftiness  of  the  first  year’s 
growth,  and  other  significant  reasons,  there  is  no  doubt 
his  expectations  will  be  realized.  Mr.  Stephens  devotes 
considerable  of  his  time  to  his  plantation,  and  a day 
or  two  since  might  have  been  seen  sowing  rye  in  one  of 
his  fields.  ” 

The  personal  appearance  of  Mr.  Stephens  always 
surprised  those  who  were  brought  in  contact  with  him. 
Perhaps  the  best  description  of  him  as  he  appeared 
when  in  the  prime  of  his  ability  and  at  the  height  of 
his  personal  popularity,  was  given  by  Rev.  William 
Henry  Milburn,  well-known  as  the  “Blind  Preacher,” 


ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS. 


7S 


and  who  was  at  one  time  Chaplain  of  Congress.  He 
says: 

“ Alexander  Hamilton  Stephens  is  the  most  powerful 
orator-in  Congress,  and  that  with  all  the  odds  against 
him.  When  standing  he  is  a man  of  medium  height, 
hut  when  seated  he  looks  like  a boy,  for  his  trunk  is 
remarkably  short,  and  his  face  exceeding  youthful. 
Careless  of  his  personal  appearance,  his  hair  falling  in 
masses  over  his  fine  brow;  his  black,  brown,  or  any 
other  colored  cravat  (he  seems  not  to  know  which)  tied 
in  a sailor’s  knot;  his  clothes  fitting  well,  if  he  has  been 
fortunate  in  his  tailor  (rarely  the  case);  an  immense 
gold  chain,  terminated  by  a heavy  seal,  falling  from  his 
watch  fob,  he  presents  an  unpromising,  not  to  say  an 
out  re  appearance.  When  in  repose,  his  face  does  not 
promise  much  more;  pale,  with  a slightly  sallow  tinge, 
sometimes  with  a hectic  flush  upon  his  cheek,  it  seems 
to  belong  to  a beardless  boy.  His  arms  and  legs  are 
very  long,  and  his  whole  frame,  not  compactly  knit, 
appears  loose  and  awkward,  and  the  victim  of  life-long 
disease.  How  nearly  disease  and  genius  may  be  associ- 
ated, is  a question  which  I leave  for  physiologists  and 
psychologists  to  settle.  But  I feel  sure  that  sleepless 
nights  and  days  of  pain  and  fever  have  had  much  to  do 
with  the  brilliant  intellect  of  this  remarkable  man. 
His  voice,  too,  in  common  talk,  gives  as  little  token 
of  his  power  as  his  other  features,  for  it  is  thin, 
high-pitched,  and  inclining  to  the  falsetto.  Trained  as 
a lawyer  at  the  Georgia  bar,  a wonderful  school  for 
the  development  of  popular  eloquence  (for  the  jury 
system  is  pushed  there  to  its  remotest  limits),  he  early 
displayed  those  gifts  which  have  made  his  name  so 
famous;  a sharp  incisive  intellect,  broad  in  its  com- 


74 


TEE  LIFE  OF 


prehension,  firm  in  its  grasp,  as  keen  in  its  percep- 
tions, coupled  with  an  emotional  nature,  delicate  as  it  is 
strong,  giving  him  an  invincible  hold  upon  the  interest 
and  sympathy  of  his  hearers.  Returned  to  the  House 
of  Representatives  when  scarcely  thirty  years  of  age, 
he  had,  by  the  time  I first  saw  him,  already  gained  the 
undivided  ear  of  the  House.  When  he  stood  up  to 
speak,  there  was  no  lunching,  chatting  or  apathy  in 
the  Hall,  which  seemed  divided  between  the  silence 
and  his  voice.  The  almost  feminine  squeak  of  opening 
soon  became  a consistent  ringing  tone,  penetrating  every 
corner  of  the  spacious  apartment;  and  judging  of  his 
effect  upon  the  ear,  I can  well  believe  what  I have  so 
often  heard,  that  the  impression  of  his  presence  upon 
the  eye  almost  amounted  to  transformation. 

“In  defence  of  his  position  he  is  at  once  logical  and 
persuasive,  setting  his  argument  before  you  in  a clear, 
light  and  striking  attitude,  insomuch  that  the  remark 
of  Mr.  Horace  Greely  is  justified,  ‘ that  you  forget  that 
you  are  listening  to  the  most  eloquent  man  in  Wash- 
ington, and  only  feel  that  he  is  right.’ 

“Hi3  manner  is  rapid,  sometimes  vehement,  always 
collected.  Having  in  an  instant  gained  your  absorbed 
attention,  he  w’ins  your  confidence  by  his  apparent  fair- 
ness of  reasoning,  until  at  length  you  submit  yourself 
to  his  control  without  compunction,  or  the  dread  of  his 
being  overcome.  The  most  brilliant,  albeit  the  most 
satisfying  part  of  his  oratory,  is  seen  when  he  turns 
upon  his  opponents.  His  powers  of  satire,  ridicule, 
sarcasm  aud  invective,  are  fearful,  and  yet  the 
man  of  good  breeding  never  forgets  himself  nor  is 
hurried  away  into  truculent  abuse.  Many  a man  has 
smarted  or  even  withered  under  Mr.  Stephens’  irony 


ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS. 


75 


or  denunciation;  but  I question  if  any  has  ever  had 
cause  to  say  that  he  was  not  a gentleman . 

“I  fancy  that  there  are  several  points  of  apparent 
resemblance  between  Mr.  Stephens,  and  John  Randolph 
of  Roanoke;  but  there  must  be  more  of  real  difference. 
Both  have  been  the  victims  of  disease  whose  origin 
dates  far  back  in  life,  and  each  has  consequently  been 
the  owner  of  a body,  -which,  however  equisitely  it  may 
have  been  strung,  had  been  perilously  sensitive.  Both 
have  exercised  almost  unequal  sway  upon  the  floor  of 
Congress ; and  both  have  been  noted  as  masters  in  the 
art  of  offensive  parliamentary  warfare.  Both  have  been 
admitted  to  be  unimpeachably  honest  and  fearless 
statesmen,  shunning  no  danger,  and  braving  every  peril 
in  maintenance  of  their  peculiar  and  cherished  convic- 
tions. But  Mr.  Randolph  had  scarcely  a friend.  Mr. 
Stephens  has  hardly  an  enemy.  Bodily  infirmity,  if  it 
did  not  master  Mr,  Randolph’s  will,  soured  his  temper, 
and  gave  to  his  perfect  diction  the  poison  of  wormwood, 
and  to  his  spirit  the  gall  of  bitterness  that  verged  upon 
misanthropy.  Mr.  Stephens  has  conquered  suffering, 
and  made  himself  strong  and  noble  by  entering  heartily 
into  the  sweet  charities  of  life.” 


CHAPTER  IX. 

MR.  STEPHENS’  GENEROSITY — AID  TO  STRUGGLING  TAL- 
ENT— HIS  APPEARANCE  IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRE- 
SENTATIVES  ADDRESS  BEFORE  THE  GEORGIA  AS- 

SEMBLY IN  1864 — THE  HAMPTON  ROADS  CONFER- 
ENCE— ARREST  AND  IMPRISONMENT  OF  MR. 
STEPHENS — HE  IS  RELEASED,  AND  DEVOTES  HIMSELF 
TO  AUTHORSHIP — HIS  DEATH,  AND  THE  IMPRESSIVE 
CEREMONIES  OF  HIS  FUNERAL. 

✓ 

There  would  be  no  completeness  to  a sketch  of  Mr. 
Stephens  which  did  not  make  emphatic  reference  to  the 
kindliness  and  generosity  of  his  nature.  From  the 
time  when  he  first  began  to  accumulate  anything  like  a 
competence,  it  was  his  custom  to  devote  a certain  part 
of  his  income,  as  opportunity  offered,  to  ameliorating 
the  condition  of  young  men  ambitious  of  obtaining  an 
education  and  incapacitated  therefrom  by  poverty.  Yet 
this  was  not  done  in  the  form  of  charity,  or  in  any  way 
calculated  to  hurt  the  sense  of  a proper  personal  pride 
which  might,  under  different  circumstances,  have  suf- 
fered ; and  it  is  pleasant  to  know,  from  Mr.  Stephens’ 
own  statement,  that  in  thirty  such  cases  in  which  he 
had  afforded  assistance,  only  three  failed  to  reimburse 
him  therefor.  In  his  relations  to  the  people  of  his  own 


ALEXANDER  II,  STEPHENS 


77 


town  and  his  own  country,  the  liberal  kindness  of  Mr. 
Stephens  was  peculiarly  evident. 

In  the  Southern  States,  people  are  known  by 
their  county  residence  more  especially  than  in  any  other 
way.  It  comes  about,  therefore,  that  there  is  an  in- 
timacy of  association  among  the  inhabitants  of  a 
county,  and  so  to  speak,  a sentiment  of  clanship, 
which  does  not  in  the  least  obtain  in  the  North.  It 
may  readily  be  understood,  therefore,  that  Mr. 
Stephens’  well-known  generous  hospitality  and  his 
habit  of  keeping  open  house  at  “Liberty  Hall”  brought 
him  into  especialy  friendly  association  with  the  people 
of  Taliaferro  County. 

But  it  was  not  alone  in  dispensing  kindly  aid  to 
those  less  fortunate  than  himself  that  Mr.  Stephens 
showed  the  tenderness  of  his  nature.  During  the  war, 
— and  while,  because  of  the  blindness  existing  among 
the  authorities  who  controlled  the  destinies  of  the  Con- 
federate States,  his  wise  counsel  was  unsought  where 
it  would  have  been  of  the  most  service — he  passed  much 
of  his  time  in  visiting  the  hospitals  and  in  doing  all  that 
lay  in  his  power  to  relieve  the  necessities  and  lessen 
the  pains  of  the  sick  and  wounded.  Such  gentle  at- 
tributes are  surely  not  to  be  counted  least  in  summing 
up  the  character  of  him  who  could,  at  the  same  time, 
occupy  the  position  of  a wise  and  great  statesman  and 
of  a kind-hearted,  tender  and  considerate  man. 

Still  another  description  of  Mr.  Stephens,  as  he  ap- 
peared, while  occupying  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives in  Washington: 

“ Near  the  bar  of  the  House,  to  the  right  of  the  main 
isle,  facing  the  speaker,  sits  a man  whose  singular  ap- 
pearance always  arrests  the  attention  of  the  stranger. 


78 


THE  LIFE  OF 


You  should  note  him  well,  for  he  is  one  of  the  marked 
characters  of  the  House. 

********* 

“ It  is  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  of  Georgia.  And  do 
you  call  that  curious-looking  creature  one  of  the  marked 
characters  of  the  House?  Yes,  every  word  of  it.  True, 
there  is  no  mark  of  extraordinary  intellectuality  in  his 
countenance;  hut  draw  him  out  in  debate,  do  anything 
to  set  at  work  that  powerful  intellectual  battery  within, 
and  that  poor,  sickly,  emaciated  frame,  which  looks  as 
if  it  must  sink  under  the  slightest  physical  exertion,  at 
once  grows  instinct  with  a galvanic  vitality  which 
quickens  every  nerve  with  the  energy  of  a new  life, 
imparts  to  every  feature  a high,  intellectual  expression, 
makes  the  languid  eyes  glow  like  living  coals,  and  dif- 
fuses a glow  of  reviving  animation  over  the  palid 
countenance. 

“A  new  spirit  seems  to  be  awakened  within  him 
which  transforms  the  whole  man  into  a new  creature  in 
appearance.  You  cease  to  be  annoyed  by  that  voice 
which  pierces  the  ear  with  its  shrill  and  discordant 
tones,  and  the  awkward  gestures  seem  awkward  no 
longer,  for  they  are  evidently  prompted  by  nature.  No 
wonder  that  nature  has  slighted  the  outward  man, 
since  she  has  lavished  her  rarest  gifts  upon  the  inward 
with  unsparing  profusion.  The  intellectual  power  of 
the  man  seems  so  to  transfigure  the  outward  appear- 
ance, so  to  transfer  its  quickening  and  transforming 
spirit  into  the  physical  nature,  that  the  emaciated 
figure  before  you  looks  as  much  like  intellect  incarnate, 
as  can  well  be  imagined. 

‘ ‘ He  hurries  through  the  exordium,  announces  the 
subject,  lays  down  his  propositions,  and  advances  at 
pnce  to  the  argument,  which  he  follows  out  with  log- 


ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS. 


79 


cal  exactness,  weaving  into  the  thread  of  it  such  facts 
as  are  proper  for  illustrations,  and  drawing  out  conclu- 
sions which  the  most  subtle  ingenuity  cannot  avert. 
Xow  he  advances  to  the  arguments  of  the  other  side, 
dissects  them  with  admirable  delicacy,  exposes  a fallacy 
here  and  a misstatement  of  facts  there;  here  a non 
sequiter,  and  there  a petitio principii  ; now  some  insidious 
reflection  upon  the  South  touches  his  sensitive  feelings 
on  that  subject,  and  forth  there  issues  a flame  of 
withering  invective,  which,  made  doubly  hot  by  his 
envenomed  sarcasm,  scathes  its  victim  as  with  the 
blasting  touch  of  lightning;  now  he  is  all  on  fire  with 
interest  in  his  subject,  and  seems  to  catch  the  inspiration 
of  eloquence,  as,  with  more  than  mortal  power,  he 
summons  forth  the  feelings  of  the  audience,  and  sways 
them  in  alternate  emotions  of  anger,  indignation,  pity, 
love,  and  all  the  passions  of  the  human  breast. 

“A  death-like  silence  reigns  over  the  vast  Hall, 
broken  only  by  the  reverberating  tones  of  the  speaker’s 
voice.  Senators  have  deserted  the  other  wing  of  the 
Capitol,  and,  side  by  side  with  members,  are  sitting  as 
under  a spell,  which  they  cannot  break;  Mr.  Speaker 
has  thrown  down  his  hammer,  which  generally  knows 
no  rest,  and  has  forgotten  to  keep  an  eye  upon  the  clock 
that  the  member  on  the  floor  may  not  break  through 
the  ‘ hour  rule;  ’ pages  have  almost  lost  their  power  of 
perpetual  motion,  and  are  now  subdued  into  a stillness 
like  unto  death;  reporters  look  like  ‘mediums’  with 
the  spell  upon  them,  inditing  revelations  from  the 
spirit  world;  while  from  the  overhanging  galleries, 
graced  with  a brilliant  array  of  beauty  and  fashion, 
a thousand  eyes  are  riveted  on  the  speaker  as  on  a 
‘ charmer,’ with  an  air  of  bewildered  amazement,  nor 
dare  they  turn  to  each  other  for  a moment,  for  an  inter- 


80 


TEE  LIFE  OF 


change  of  those  sympathetic  glances,  which  bring  so 
much  relief  to  the  human  heart  when  swayed  by  such 
emotions.” 

In  the  Spring  of  1864,  when  it  was  beginning  to  be 
discerned  by  the  Southern  leaders  and  the  Southern 
people  that  their  cause  was  hopeless,  Mr.  Stephens  ad- 
dressed the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Georgia, 
reviewing  those  executive  and  Congressional  errors 
which  had  in  his  opinion,  wrecked  and  destroyed  the 
Confederate  government.  In  closing  his  address  he  used 
the  following  impressive  language: 

“ What  fate  or  fortune  awaits  you  or  me,  in  the  con- 
tingencies of  the  times,. is  known  to  us  all.  We  may  meet 
again,  or  we  may  not.  But  as  a parting  remembrance, 
a lasting  memento,  to  be  engraven  on  your  memories 
and  your  hearts,  I warn  you  against  that  most  insidi- 
ous enemy  which  approaches  with  her  syren  song,  1 in- 
dependence first,  and  liberty  afterward.’  It  is  a fatal 
delusion.  Liberty  is  the  animating  spirit,  the  soul  of 
our  system  of  government;  and  like  the  soil  of  man, 
when  once  lost  it  is  lost  forever.  There  is  for  it  no 
redemption,  except  through  blood.  Never  for  a 
moment  permit  yourselves  to  look  upon  liberty,  that 
constitutional  liberty  which  you  inherited  as  a birth- 
right, as  subordinate  to  independence.  The  .one  was 
resorted  to  to  secure  the  other.  Let  them  ever  be  held 
and  cherished  as  objects  co  ordinate,  co-existent,  co- 
equal, co-eval,  and  forever  inseparable.  Let  them 
stand  together  ‘through  weal  and  through  woe,’  and  if 
such  be  our  fate,  let  them  and  us  all  go  down  together 
in  a common  ruin.  Without  liberty,  I would  not  turn 
upon  my  heel  for  independence.  I scorn  all  independ- 
ence which  does  not  secure  liberty!  I warn  you  also 


ALEXANDER  IT.  STEPHENS. 


Si 

against  another  fatal  delusion,  commonly  dressed  Up  ja 
the  fascinating  language  of,  ‘ if  we  are  to  have  a mf3ter 
who  would  not  prefer  to  ha  ve  a Southern  one  to  a N 0rth- 
ernone?’  Use  no  such  language.  Countenance  none 
such.  Evil  communications  are  as  corrupting  in  p0ii_ 
tics  as  in  morals. 

“ ‘ Vice  is  a monster  of  such  hideous  mien. 

That  to  be  hated,  needs  but  to  be  seen. 

But  seen  too  oft,  familiar  with  her  face, 

We  first  endure,  then  pity,  then  embrace.’ 

“ I would  not  turn  upon  my  heel  to  choose  between 
masters.  I was  not  horn  to  acknowledge  a master  from 
either  the  North  or  South.  I shall  never  choose  be- 
tween candidates  for  that  office.  1 shall  never  degrade 
the  right  of  suffrage  in  such  an  election.  I have  no 
wish  or  desire  to  live  after  the  degradation  of  my  coun- 
try, and  have  no  intention  to  survive  its  liberties,  if 
life  be  the  necessary  sacrifice  of  their  maintenance,  to 
the  utmost  of  my  ability  to  the  bitter  end.  As  for  my- 
self, give  me  liberty  as  secured  in  the  constitution  with 
all  its  guarantees,  amongst  which  is  the  sovereignty  of 
Georgia,  or  give  me  death.  This  is  my  motto  while 
living,  and  I want  no  better  epitaph  when  I am  dead. 

“ Senators  and  Representatives,  the  honor,  the  rights, 
the  dignity,  the  glory  of  Georgia,  are  in  your  hands. 
See  to  it  as  faithful  sentinels  on  the  watch-tower,  that 
no  harm  or  detriment  come  to  any  of  those  high  and 
sacred  trusts  while  committed  to  your  charge.” 

For  the  sentiments  expressed  in  this  speech,  Mr. 
Stephens  was  savagely  attacked  by  the  organs  of  the 
Richmond  government.  Necessarily,  there  were  small 
minds  in  the  South,  as  there  would  have  been  elsewhere 
under  similar  circumstances,  minds  incapable  of  recog- 


82 


THE  LIFE  OF 


nizij'g  the  grandeur  of  soul  which  had,  in  the  early 
days  of  the -conflict,  impelled  the  Great  Commoner  to 
souno'  the  note  of  warning;  and  which  now,  at  the 
close,  Save  the  right  to  offer  them  such  advice 
and  c tuasel  as  to  him  seemed  good.  Calm  and  dig- 
nified* as  a Roman  Senator,  he  did  not  hesitate  to 
uttc  ' unpalatable  truths,  not  because  they  were  truths, 
anc]  not  because  they  were  unpalatable,  but  because 
■■  at  there  seemed  to  him  to  be  some  merit  in  them 
nrough  which  there  might  be  saved  from  the  wreck 
cf  his  country,  that  liberty  which  he  prized  and  for 
which,  as  he  did  not  hesitate  to  declare,  he  would  will- 
ingly have  died.  One  Georgia  journal,  the  Southern 
Confederacy  published  in  Atlanta,  recognized  the 
nobility  of  character  which  dictated  the  wise  recom- 
mendations of  Mr.  Stephens,  and  thus  referred  to  them, 
conceding  moreover,  to  the  statesman  the  exact  value 
of  his  earlier  suggestions:  referring  to  current  news- 
paper attacks,  this  journal  spoke  as  follows: 

“ He  is  a person,  in  the  first  place,  of  an  enlightened 
understanding.  He  adds  to  a fine  intellect  by  nature, 
the  cultivation  of  earnest  inquiry  and  long  experience. 
He  has  been  a brilliant  actor  in  public  affairs,  as  well  as 
a close  student  in  his  own  library.  His  perceptions 
are  clear;  his  vision  far-sighted;  his  disposition  tem- 
perate. Ho  man  but  a fool  can  doubt  the  loyalty  of 
his  nature  to  fixed  principles,  for  as  a citizen  and  a 
statesman  he  is  a man  of  integrity.  He  seems  to  have 
made  the  science  of  government  a system  of  profound 
research,  the  good  of  his  people  his  chief  purpose;  and, 
since  the  advent  of  the  revolution,  the  success  of  our 
cause  the  aim  of  his  existence.  Had  his  counsels  pre- 
vailed, we  would  have  had  peace  this  day.  There  is 


ALEXANDER  TT.  STEPHENS. 


83 


no  sort  of  question  of  it;  for  they  would  have  given  us 
an  army  at  the  start,  and  a financial  and  diplomatic 
system  throughout  the  war.  The  modest  bearing,  the 
earnest  truths,  the  calm  good  sense,  the  sagacious 
hints,  the  eloquent  pictures  and  appeals  which 
gleam  among  the  sturdy  issues  presented  in  his  late 
speech,  cannot  fail  to  find  the  heart  of  all  who  read 
them ; and  he  who  rises  from  the  perusal  of  that  docu- 
ment, and  has  the  bigotry  to  prate  about  what  is  called 
the  ‘Georgia  Platform,’  proclaims  himself  as  unfit  to 
enjoy  a free  country  as  he  is  to  talk  politics.” 

In  January,  1865,  the  arrangement  for  what  has 
passed  into  history  as  the  Hampton  Roads  Conference, 
was  entered  into  between  Jefferson  Davis  and  Francis 
P.  Blair,  Sr.,  resulting  in  the  meeting  on  February  3rd, 
between  President  Lincoln  and  Secretary  Seward  on 
the  part  of  the  United  States,  and  Messrs.  Stephens, 
Hunter  and  Campbell  on  the  part  of  the  Confederate 
States.  This  conference  was  originally  devised  for  the 
purpose  of  bringing  about  such  an  agreement  between 
the  belligerents  as  to  effect  a suspension  of  hostilities 
and  some  combination  through  which  the  Monroe  Doc- 
trine should  be  maintained  as  the  united  policy  of  both 
parties,  and  thus  the  establishment  of  the  projected 
empire  in  Mexico  by  France  be  prevented.  The  con- 
ference took  place  on  beard  a steamer  anchored  near 
Fortress  Monroe,  and  which  had  arrived,  having  on 
board  Mr.  Lincoln,  on  the  previous  night,  Mr.  Seward 
having  preceded  him  by  a couple  of  days.  The  con- 
ference was  informal  and  resulted  in  nothing,  President 
Lincoln  refusing  to  entertain  any  proposition  whatever 
without  the  laying  down  of  arms  on  the  part  of  the 
South,  as  an  act  to  precede  all  negotiations.  After  a 


84 


THE  LIFE  OF 


desultory  conversation,  and  some  slight  arrangement 
being  made  in  regard  to  the  exchange  of  prisoners,  the 
conference  terminated.  The  Confederate  commissioners 
returned  to  Richmond  and  reported  to  Mr.  Davis,  and 
on  the  9th  of  February,  Mr.  Stephens  returned  to  his 
home  in  Crawfordsville,  where  he  remained  until  the 
11th  of  May. 

On  that  day  he  was  arrested  at  his  house  by  the 
Federal  Major-general  Upton,  and  conveyed  under 
guard  to  Atlanta,  where  he  was  taken  charge  of  by 
Colonel  Pritchard,  who  had  already  in  his  custody  Mr. 
Davis  and  those  captured  with  him.  Mr.  Stephens 
was  transferred  to  Fort  Warren,  Boston  Harbor,  May 
25th,  and  remained  there  until  released  on  parole 
October  12th.  During  the  greater  portion  of  the  period 
of  his  incarceration,  he  was  permitted  to  have  the 
society  of  his  brother  Linton,  and  apart  from  the 
burden  of  confinement,  his  stay  was  made  as  comfort- 
able and  convenient  as  possible.  Early  in  the  following 
year,  Mr.  Stephens  testified  before  the  Reconstruction 
Committee  of  Congress,  and  at  this  time  he  began  writ- 
ing a work  in  two  volumes,,  entitled  1 ‘ A Constitutional 
Review  of  the  Late  War  Between  the  States;  Its  Causes, 
Character,  Conduct  and  Results,  presented  in  a series 
of  colloquies  at  Liberty  Hall.”  This  work  met  with  a 
large  sale.  In  1870,  he  first  contemplated  writing  a 
school  history  of  the  United  States,  which  he  after- 
wards completed.  The  following  year  he  bought  an 
interest  in  the  Atlanta  Sun,  and  for  which  he  wrote 
political  editorials,  while  also  dictating  its  general 
policy  as  a Democratic  newspaper.  He  was  chosen  a 
member  of  the  Forty-third  Congress,  and  though  pre- 
vented by  ill-health  from  taking  a very  prominent  part 
in  the  debates,  continued  to  hold  his  seat  through  four 


ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS. 


85 


congresses,  and  until  a short  time  before  his  election  as 
Governor  of  the  State  of  Georgia,  on  the  retirement  of 
Alfred  H.  Colquitt,  at  the  close  of  1882. 

********* 

A succinct  expression  of  the  best  Northern  judgment 
concerning  the  ability  and  career  of  Alexander  H. 
Stephens,  is  presented,  possibly,  in  the  following  quo- 
tation from  an  editorial  in  Harper's  Weekly,  which 
appeared  immediately  after  his  death: 

‘ ‘ His  gifts  were  unquestionable.  Especially  in  earlier 
life  his  eloquence  was  fervent,  persuasive  and  sympa- 
thetic, while  he  developed  marked  skill  in  debate.  His 
energy  was  exhaustless,  his  knowledge  of  human 
nature  varied  and  extensive,  and  his  mastery  of  parlia- 
mentary tactics  almost  unequaled.  At  the  same  time, 
his  grasp  of  constitutional  law,  his  capacity  for  plausible 
reasoning,  his  ingenious  mode  of  presenting  his  argu- 
ments, and  his  promptness  in  accepting  accomplished 
facts,  made  him  easily  a leader  of  the  party  with  which 
he  cast  in  his  fortunes.  Had  he  been  unhampered  by 
the  conditions,  political  and  moral,  which  surrounded 
him,  there  is  little  room  for  doubt  that  he  would  have 
won  great  distinction;  but  it  was  his  misfortune  to  be 
in  servitude,  unconscious  but  complete,  to  the  terrible 
institution  which  determined  the  political  career  of 
every  public  man  in  the  South,  and  which  interposed  a 
barrier  that  none  succeeded  in  overthrowing  or  pass- 
ing.” 

Mr.  Stephens  never  married.  Possibly  one  of  the 
elements  which  went  to  make  up  his  life,  most  emphas- 
ized by  its  claim  on  the  consideration  and  tenderness 
of  his  countrymen,  is  to  be  found  in  the  determination 
never  to  marry,  imposed  on  him  by  his  frail  organiza- 


86 


THE  LIFE  OF 


tion  and  constant  illness.  While  there  is  no  doubt  that 
Mr.  Stephens  was  one  to  •whom  marriage  would  have 
fulfilled  its  best  ends  if  wisely  undertaken,  and  while 
few  men  more  needed  the  social  atmosphere  of  the 
family,  it  is  certain  that  he,  early  in  life,  discarded  all 
hopes  of  ever  reaching  such  a conclusion,  and  purely 
from  a sense  of  his  utter  dependence,  and  with  an 
unselfish  disregard  of  his  own  feelings,  certainly  most 
honorable  and  most  unusual. 

It  is  a part  of  his  early  history,  that  when  exercising 
the  functions  of  a teacher,  his  heart  was  deeply  touched 
and  his  mind  impressed  with  regard  for  a young  lady, 
a pupil,  who  was  herself  not  disinclined  to  him.  It 
is  related  to  have  been  one  of  the  most  serious  shocks  of 
his  life  when  he  resisted  and  broke  down  all  his  impulses 
and  wishes  in  this  direction,  and  literally  fled  from  the 
scene  of  his  enchantment. 

Another  romance  is  related  of  him,  the  other  party  to 
which  is  still  living  at  Atlanta,  an  unmarried  lady 
highly  esteemed  by  all  who  knew  her.  The  period  was 
about  1840,  and  the  lady  at  the  time  not  more  than 
sixteen  or  seventeen  years  of  age.  They  met  and  be- 
came interested  in  each  other,  and  nearly  ten  years 
later,  the  acquaintance  being  renewed,  their  attach- 
ment became  more  serious,  their  relation  amounting  to 
an  engagement.  Occurrences  of  a private  nature,  de- 
lays and  disappointments  intervened  and  prevented 
their  marriage,  but  both  continued  strong  in  their 
attachment  and  remained  single  each  for  the  other’s 
sake.  In  this  instance  also,  Mr.  Stephens’  ill  health 
had  much  to  do  with  the  result,  and  in  considering  him 
in  every  relation,  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  he  never 
knew  a well  day  in  his  life.  He  used  to  say  that  he 


ALEXANDER  II.  STEPHENS. 


87 


made  it  the  rule  of  his  life  to  live  each  day  as  if  it  were 
to  he  his  last. 

We  have  already  presented  several  descriptions  of 
Mr.  Stephens’  personal  appearance.  During  his  last 
terms  in  Congress  he  occupied  a wheeled  chair,  in 
which  his  worn  face  and  emaciated  figure,  shrouded  in 
a great  cloak,  made  him  an  object  of  scrutiny  and  re- 
mark with  all  who  visited  the  legislative  chamber. 

Of  all  the  portraits  of  him  that  have  been  made,  the 
most  satisfactory  in  all  respects  is  that  from  the  line 
engraving  on  steel  by  the  distinguished  artist,  William 
Edgar  Marshall,  of  which  a very  fine  copy  adorns 
this  volume.  A peculiar  charm  in  this  picture  con- 
sists in  the  marvelous  skill  by  which  the  artist  has 
managed  to  include  in  his  representation  of  the  face 
one  and  all  of  the  idiosyncracies  and  specially  personal 
characteristics  of  this  remarkable  man.  There  never 
has  been  an  artist  who  has  succeeded  in  line  engraving 
applied  to  portraiture  in  producing  the  vivid  and 
powerful  effects  of  Mr.  Marshall.  By  his  wonderful 
handling  of  light  and  shade,  he  succeeds  in  giving  re- 
sults of  tone,  color  and  atmosphere,  which,  in  simple 
black  and  white,  are  unusual  and  very  striking. 

Alexander  H.  Stephens  died  at  his  home  at  Craw- 
fordsville,  Georgia,  at  midnight  on  March  3rd,  1883, 
having  just  entered  upon  his  seventy-second  year. 

He  had  been  on  a visit  to  Savannah,  and  being  ex- 
posed to  sudden  and  violent  changes  of  temperature, 
became  seriously  ill.  His  condition  rapidly  grew  -worse 
as  he  traveled  homeward,  and  on  his  arrival  he  took  to 
his  bed,  from  which  he  never  rose  again.  During  the  last 
week  of  his  life,  he  became  impressed  with  the  serious 
nature  of  his  condition,  and  while  those  about  him, 
who  had  often  seen  him  recover  from  apparently  severer 


88 


THE . LIFE  OF 


attacks,  were  very  hopeful,  he  remarked  several  times 
that  he  was  certain  he  was  going  to  die. 

“ I know  exactly  how  much  strength  I have,”  he 
said,  “ and  I believe  I am  going  to  die.” 

Again  he  remarked,  “The  time  will  come  at  last 
when  I will  not  have  strength  to  rally,  and  this  may  be 
the  time.”  At  about  half  past  ten,  on  the  Saturday 
night  of  his  death,  Mr.  Stephens  sank  into  a deep 
stupor,  from  which  he  never  rallied.  His  remains  were 
taken  to  Atlanta  and  laid  in  state  in  the  Executive 
Mansion,  until  the  8th,  when  the  funeral  took  place, 
amid  the  most  imposing  cei'emonies  and  in  the  presence 
of  the  most  eminent  men  of  Georgia — men  with  whom 
the  life  of  the  deceased  had  been  intimately  connected, 
socially  and  politically,  during  one  of  the  most  impres- 
sive and  important  periods  of  the  world’s  history.  The 
funeral  ceremonies  took  place  in  Representatives’  Hall, 
which  was  elaborately  draped  in  mourning,  Governor 
Colquitt  presiding,  and  Governor  Boynton,  Generals 
Gordon  and  Toombs,  Judge  Crawford,  Senator  Brown, 
Ex-Governor  Bullock,  General  Jackson,  and  many 
other  prominent  personages  being  present.  Rev.  Dr. 
De  Witt  Talmage,  of  Brooklyn,  an  old  friend  of  the 
deceased,  was  present  by  invitation,  and  offered  the 
closing  prayer. 

Throughout  the  Southern  States,  and  in  various  parts 
of  the  country,  the  day  of  the  funeral  was  observed 
with  appropriate  ceremonies;  and  not  the  least  impres- 
sive recognition  of  the  event  occurred  in  the  Metropol- 
itan City  of  New  York,  whose  City  Hall  displayed  the 
State  and  National  colors,  in  honor  and  memory  of 
him  who  had  once  been  Vice-President  of  the  Confed- 
erate States  of  America. 


FINIS. 


, I 

* /S  y a ' 


i 


W' 


